What is the distribution of world languages density concentration patterns How is culture influenced or limited by this language distribution? How does the language reflect the culture?

History and conquest Isolation or integration of cultures Migration of peoples Economic Domination of certain cultures Influence of wealth and technology Political Divisions (country boundaries) Physical geography barriers (mts., deserts)

Character and sounds of a culture Visual landscapes of signs (script, letters, ideograms)

class structure gender differences in vocabulary environmentally specific vocabulary formal and informal relationships technology of a culture

Language: a system of communication that uses sounds writing (literary tradition and or gestures meanings of symbols and sounds are learned

Hearth Area of the Indo-European Languages

Ideograms: The system of writing used in China and other East Asian Countries in which each symbol represents an idea or a concept rather than a specific sound, as is the case with letters in English.

Lingua Franca: a language mutually under- stood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages. A language of commerce English Spanish Chinese Japanese

Language Families Languages Branches Languages Groups Languages Dialects Accents

a collection of individual languages with a common ancestor a family may be divided into several divisions or branches

a group of languages in a family that share a common origin but have evolved into different languages example: Romance Branch - Indo-European Family French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanch

Several individual languages within a language branch share a common origin in recent past few differences in grammar and vocabulary

Here's a listing of the ten most popular languages spoken worldwide, along with the approximate number of primary or first language speakers for that language. 1. Mandarin Chinese million 2. Spanish million 3. English million 4. Arabic million 5. Hindi million 6. Portuguese million 7. Bengali million 8. Russian million 9. Japanese million 10. German - 96 million

English is spoken as a first language by 427 million English is spoken as a second language by another 350 million English is the most widely taught language in over 100 countries In 70 countries English has official status: more than any other language

Pronunciation of a language distinct to a certain region New England Dialect Southern Drawl Australian Dialect

Isogloss: An area of distinct word usage or pronunciation that can be defined as a distinct region with boundaries.

Isolation over long periods of time Integration with other cultures Interplay of migrants

Accent: Non standard pronunciation of language by a a non native speaker First generation immigrant

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.