Lindsey Miller and Reid Scholz Language Lindsey Miller and Reid Scholz

Language Language is a system of communication through speech, a collection of sounds that a group of people understands to have the same meaning. Many languages have a literacy tradition which is a system of written language There are a estimated of 6,909 languages in the world, many countries designate at least one official language. Hyperpolyglot http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bppUq5IKZrM

Language Definitions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irGk5PItLgk Proto-tongue is the very first language Language divergence – When speakers of the same language scatter and develop variations of that original form of language Language shift- when speakers come into contact with other languages, a blending of the two or more language can occur Language replacement- occurs when invaders replace the language of those places they conquer. Can lead to extinction of the language and its also be when a language is no longer used. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irGk5PItLgk

Language Definitions Ctd. Reverse Reconstruction- Is the process that begins with the most recent places of the languages existence and moves backward through time, Dialect- Regional variations within a standard language and differences in pronunciation grammar, and vocabulary. Language Family- Collection of individual languages believed to be related in their prehistorical origin.

Language Definitions Ctd Language branch- Collection of languages that possesses a definite common origin but has split into individual languages Language group- Collection of several individual languages that is part of a language branch, shares a common origin in the recent past, and has relatively similar grammar and vocabulary.

Language Hearths Traditional approaches in cultural geography have identified the source areas of the worlds languages and the paths of diffusion of those languages from their places of origins.

Indo- European Branches Indo- European is the most common family Indo- European family is divided into eight branches They are Germanic, Indo- Iranian, Baltic languages, Romance, Albanian, Armenian, Greek, and Celtic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IC4QEEU8Td0

Germanic Branch West Germanic -Language group in Germanic branch -English is a part of this group -English and German have many words in common -Further divided High and Low Germanic

West Germanic Branch High Germanic -Found in high elevations in Germany and spoken in southern mountains -Is the modern standard German language Low Germanic -English -Dutch -Flemish

Indo-Iranian Branch Includes more than 100 million speakers The two Branches are the Eastern group (Indic) and Western group (Iranian) Indic -Most widely used in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh Iranian -Includes Persian, Pashto, and Kurdish -Spoken in Iran and Southwestern Asia

Baltic-Slavic Branch Divided into East, West, South, and Baltic East -Most widely used of the Slavic languages -Part of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian languages West Slavic -Includes the Polish, Czech, and Slovak languages South -Spoken in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Herzegovina

Romance Branch Four most widely used is -Spanish -Portuguese -French -Italian

Language Tree Linguist have organized languages into a language tree Tree is subdivided into -19 language families -Each family has its own branches -Each branch has its own groups -Each group has its own language

Classification of Languages Family % spoken by in the world Indo-European 45% Sino-Tibetan 22% Afro-Asiatic 6% Austronesian 5% Niger-Congo 4% Altaic 2% Austro-Asiatic Japanese

Preserving Language The distribution of language is a measure of the fate of an ethnic group. Extinct Languages -Languages no longer spoken or read in daily activities Reviving Extinct Languages -Hebrew language is an example of one of the languages that have been revived.

Multilingual State Conflict Canada English and French Languages French speakers in Quebec, have fought for increased recognition and power against the English speaking Canadian majority Belgium Dutch and French Languages The Dutch-speaking north and French-speaking south compete for power and control Cyprus Greek and Turkish Languages Greek majority and Turkish minority compete for control of this island-country Nigeria Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and 230 others Languages Hausa speakers in the north, Yoruba in the southwest and Ibo in the southeast paint a divided Nigeria in which some 230 other complicate Nigeria's unification.

Monolingual States Country with one official language. Few only exist Examples are Japan and France. Japan -Relatively monolingual due to its immigration laws France -Fought to preserve monolingual heritage

Isolated Languages A language unrelated to any other and therefore not attached to any language family Arise through lack of interaction with speakers of other languages

Global Dominance of English Lingua Franca -Language of international communication -Mixing two languages into common simple language Pidgin Language -A simplified form of lingua franca -Mix some elements of own language Ebonics -Distinctive African American Dialect

Global Dominance of English English words have been increasingly integrated into other languages Franglais- French and English Spanglish- Spanish and English Denglish- Diffusion of English into German