Languages of Europe SS6G11 The student will describe the cultural characteristics of Europe a.Explain the diversity of European languages as seen in a comparison of German, English, Russian, French, and Italian (adapted from a PPT by Effingham County Schools) Guten Tag Bonjour Good Morning Buongiorno Добрый дењ

The Problems with Multiple Languages Over 200 languages are spoken in Europe. Many European countries are about the size of our states. What problems are created when so many languages are spoken in such a small area?

Many European languages are in 3 main categories Many of these 200+ languages fit into 3 main groups: Germanic Languages Romance Languages Slavic Languages

Which countries speak Germanic languages? Which countries speak Romance languages? Which countries speak Slavic languages? What are some of the other smaller groups?

Germanic Language Group Has most native speakers English is a Germanic language Native speakers live mostly in northwest and central Europe About 20% of Europeans speak English or German as their native language Most Europeans learn English as a second language in their schools

Romance Language Group This group includes French, Italian, and Spanish These are found in the south and west of Europe These languages come from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire The Roman alphabet is used to write Romance and Germanic languages

Slavic Language Group This includes Russian They are found in central and eastern Europe They are written with a Cyrillic Alphabet

Complete your Thinking Map 3 Main Language Groups of Europe GermanicRomanceSlavic

Look at the map of the 3 main groups again. Which countries are included in the 1.Germanic Group 2.Romance Group 3.Slavic Group