LanguageAP Human Geography

What is Language?• A system of

communication through speech, gestures, signs, etc.

• Allows the transmission of culture from one generation to the next.

• Languages may or may not have a literary tradition, which is a system of written communication.

Language Facts• Close to 7,000 languages worldwide.• Only 10 have 100 million+ speakers

▫Chinese (14%)▫Spanish (4.9%)▫English (4.7%)▫Hindi (2.7%)▫Arabic (3.1%)▫Portuguese (2.7%)▫Bengali (2.6%)▫Russian (2.2%)▫Japanese (1.9%)▫Standard German (1.4%)

Breakdown of Languages• Mother Tongue/ Common Language

• Language Family (Indo-European)

• Language Branch (Germanic, Romance)

• Language (English, Spanish)

• Dialect (British English v. American English, Spanish Spanish v. Mexican Spanish)

Language Families

•A collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history.

•Examples: Indo-European (German, Spanish, English)

Language Branches

•Each language family is broken down into various branches.

•Each branch is broken down into specific languages.

•For example, the Germanic branch includes English, German, Dutch and Flemish languages.

The Indo-European Language Family

• 8 branches total (4 major)• 449 individual languages• 3 billion speakers worldwide• Germanic branch

▫English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans• Romance branch

▫Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian• Balto-Slavic branch

▫Russian, Polish, Ukrainian• Indo-Iranian branch

▫Hindi, Bengali, Farsi

Other families

•Sino-Tibetan▫Mandarin Chinese

•Niger-Congo▫Yoruba (Hi Margaret!), Xhosa

•Afro-Asiatic▫Arabic

Examples•GERMANIC BRANCH•Hello. My name is Mister P. (English)•Hallo. Mein Name ist Herr P. (German)•Hallo. Mijn naam is Mister P. (Dutch)

•ROMANCE BRANCH•Hola. Mi nombre es Míster P. (Spanish)•Ciao. Il mio nome è Mister P. (Italian)•Bonjour. Mon nom est Monsieur P. (French)

Global Dominance of English• English has become the dominant language of

the world, used globally for business and communication

• Why?▫England’s dominance 1600’s- early/mid 1900’s.▫America’s dominance post-WWII.

• Lingua Franca▫A common language between different groups,

usually on the international level.▫Ex. English is a common lingua franca in the

world of business and government.

English as an Official Language

% of English Speakers

Dialects•Dialect- a regional variation of a language.

▫Vocabulary (Pop vs. Coke vs. Soda, Eraser vs. Rubber, Bubbler vs. ???)

▫Spelling (center vs. centre, shop vs. shoppe)▫Pronunciation (you all vs. ya’ll, creek vs. crick)

•Isogloss- The geographic boundary of a word or other linguistic factor.

•Standard Language- dialect that is recognized as most acceptable for govt., business, education, mass comm.

U.S. Dialects

Isogloss

Official Languages• Official language- a

language designated by a govt. for use in laws, reports, public objects (road signs)

• U.S.= No official language• Canada= French and

English• Switzerland= German,

French, Italian, Romansh• Kenya= Swahili, English