Midterm Study Guide - Big Ideas PDF

# Theories of Human Environmental Interaction ## Determinism - The view that natural factors solely control the development of human qualities. ### Criticisms of Determinism - Cultures could say they are superior to others, based only on the climate that they live in. - It was a very simple, ca...

# Theories of Human Environmental Interaction ## Determinism - The view that natural factors solely control the development of human qualities. ### Criticisms of Determinism - Cultures could say they are superior to others, based only on the climate that they live in. - It was a very simple, cause-and-effect relationship, and other nonenvironmental factors also diversify us. - Similar climate settings have been proven not to produce the same cultures or behaviors. ## Possibilism - The view that people, instead of bowing to the conditions of the environment they live in, use their creativity to adapt, respond, and overcome them. - "People Make it Possible" ## Cultural Landscapes **Cultural Landscape Definition:** Cultural landscapes are landscapes influenced in some way by people. **Examples:** - Methods of agriculture practices - Types of clothing - State parks - Types of religion **Mormon Landscape From American West Example:** - A community in the American West - Created by the founders and followers of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when migrating west. - Settlers established farming villages where croplands surrounded clustered houses to provide protection. **Ways to Analyze Cultural Landscape:** - You can analyze a cultural landscape through the visual aspects of the culture. - **Examples include:** - Land use - Settlement patterns - Architecture - How people travel (transportation) **What can cultural landscapes uncover?** - They can reveal all sorts of cultural and lifestyle traits in an area such as: - Religion(s) practiced - Agricultural practices - Form of government - Social structure - Daily routines **Additional Information (Pages 8-12):** - Carl Sauer used cultural landscapes as an argument against environmental determinism. - **Two Key Principles:** - The Earth is a system made up of diverse components interacting in complex ways. - The Earth in constantly changing due to natural and human-induced events. ## Regionalization: Culture Regions ### Formal Region - Region described by having unifying cultural or physical characteristics. - **Traits that can characterize a formal region:** - Commonalities - Religion - Language - Boundaries - Ethnicity **Examples:** - The Dairy Belt is a formal region due to the commonality of dairy farms in states like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. - A country, such as India, is a formal region due to defined boundaries. ### Functional Region - Region defined by a political, social, or economic characteristic. The area must also have a center of activity, like a corporation, entity, or business that organizes the activity. - **Examples:** - TARC, Louisville's transportation service, has its office downtown and organizes its bus systems throughout Louisville, spanning from areas like PRP to Prospect. - LMPD's service in Jefferson County is an example of a functional region due to its central headquarters downtown, the division offices in different neighborhoods, and the streets they patrol. ### Perceptual Region (Vernacular Region) - Region characterized by a population's sense of identity and attraction towards an area, and tend to have undefined boundaries. - **Example:** - The American South in often regarded as a perceptual region due to the shared "Southern" identity of people in the region and the heavy debate on the exact boundaries of the South. - The Bible Belt, a region with a high presence of fundamentalist christians, is defined as a perceptual region because of the undefined boundaries associated with it. ## The Spread of Ideas: Cultural Diffusion **What is cultural diffusion?** - Diffusion in the spread of an epidemic, innovation, or idea throughout space and time. ### Absorbing Barriers - An obstacle which completely stops an idea from diffusion ### Permeable Barriers - An obstacle which slows down diffusion without stopping. ### Independent Invention - An idea created without diffusion. ### Relocation Diffusion - Phenomena is spread across space. - Population of people = same. - Ex: Migration - Not expansion diffusion. ### Expansion Diffusion - Includes all diffusion except relocation. - Diffusion which results in a change of numbers (increasing). ### Hierarchical Diffusion - Spreads in a rank-order. - From highest to lowest rank (this could be social ranks, or ranks based on size of population). - This in how most pop culture spreads. - Spreads based on areas with similar characteristics - **Ex:** Fashion brands start in Paris, skips over smaller cities like Vatican, and goes to another big city like New York and eventually arrives in Louisville. ### Reverse Hierarchical - Opposite of hierarchical. - Spreads from lowest to highest rank. ### Contagious Diffusion - Spreads randomly based on proximity. - **Ex:** Infectious epidemics, like H1Nlin 2009 (pg 16). ### Stimulus Diffusion - Spreading of idea prompts new ideas. - Ideas change based on the culture of an area. - **Ex:** McDonalds in India changes menu to suit the population's taste. - **Examples include:** - McCurry Pan and McVeggie - These have not beef and are vegetarian (pg 44, figure 2.7). ## Interactions Between Places ### Accessibility - Describes the ease of accessing a specific place. - Often refers to travel time or cost. - More accessibility- Low travel tie and low cost. - **Ex #1:** Public Libraries- Located near town/city centers, and generally free to use. - **Ex #2:** Fast food restaurants- Located close to most living areas, and often cheap. ### Distance Decay - When a process, pattern, or event has less impact due to a change in distance, (normally increase in distance.) - Advances in technology, transportation and communication, change the impacts of distance-decay. - **Examples of distance decay in cities might be;** - Population density gets smaller the further outside the center. - Price of property gets cheaper further out. - Building height gets smaller further out. - **Ex:** More people traveling longer distance to a superstore than a convenience store. (Interaction decreases with distance.) ### Tobler's First Law - Law says that "everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things." - Created by geographer, Waldo Tobler. - Displays important ideas from distance decay and spatial interaction. - **Example:** Would mean that Louisville and Lexington are more related than Louisville and Tokyo. ### Time-Space Convergence - The process of when advances in communication and transportation lessen the effects of distance, making places seem closer. (In terms of travel and communication.) - Can travel and get to distant locations quicker and communicate with people further away much easier. - **Example:** Can travel from Louisville to Paris in just 10.5 hours, less than half the walking time from Lou. to Lexington. ## Scales of Analysis - **Scale:** Ratio of distance on the map and what it represents in real life (Ex. 1 cm: 1 mi). - **Geographic Scale:** A way of depicting (in reduced form) all or part of the world. - **Two Types:** Cartographic & Methodological ### Cartographic Scale #### Large Scale - Larger amount of detail. - Smaller area (shows more detail). - Regional & Local #### Small Scale - Smaller amount of detail. - Larger area (shows less detail). - Global & National ### Global - Shows entire globe (very little detail). - Shows: Continents. ### National - Shows entire country (little detail). - Shows: States/cities. ### Regional - Shows region/state (decent detail). - Shows: Counties/cities ### Local - Shows community (a lot of detail). - Shows: Towns/small cities. ## Types of Thematic Maps ### Reference Map - The map displays the boundaries, names, and unique identifiers of standard geographic areas, as well as major cultural and physical features. **Ex:** Map of Louisville or World ### Thematic Map - A thematic map emphasizes a particular theme or a special topic. ### Cartogram - This map distorts land area to show changes in value. - **For example:** On a Cartogram of total population, China and India are going to be more rounded, and have a noticeably higher land area. - **Cartogram:** The greater the value being measured, the greater the land area and vice versa. ### Choropleth Map - This map uses different shades to show the variation of the values. - When looking at a Choropleth Map when you see a darker shaded area that typically means that it has a higher, more dense value. - **Trick to remember:** When trying to name this map, just look at the one with multiple different shades of COLORS, think CHORO. ### Dot Map - Uses dots to show different values. - More dots = Greater value. - **In this example:** Each tiny grey dot represents 200 farms. ### Graduated Symbol - This map uses a symbol to represent a certain value. The larger the symbol, the higher the value, and vice versa. - **One example:** Of this is the literacy rate in the U.S. In places where the literacy rate is higher there will be a larger symbol. ### Isoline Maps - Maps with lines drawn to link different places that share a common value. ## Map Projections - A map projection is a transformation of the latitudes and longitudes of locations of a sphere (like Earth) into locations on a flat surface (map). - All map projections distort the surface (distance, direction, area, or scale) in some fashion. ### Mercator Projection - **Type & Creator:** Conformal - 1569 - Gerardus Mercator - **Benefits:** - Preserves 90° angles and straight lines of longitude and latitude - Shows true direction - **Purpose:** - Best map for nautical use to help ship captains - Most commonly-used and accurate projection - **Distortion:** - Poles appear much larger than they are (areas become larger with latitude) ### Robinson Projection - **Type & Creator:** Compromise - 1963 - Arthur Robinson - **Benefits:** - Shows accurate shapes and sizes (area) of land masses - **Purpose:** - Commonly used by schools - Used in atlases - **Distortion:** - Distorts poles ### Peters Projection - **Type & Creator:** Equal-Area - 1967 - Arno Peters - **Benefits:** - Not much distortion of continents (size is preserved) - Superior alternative to Mercator - **Purpose:** - Used for navigation - Used in world maps - **Distortion:** - Distorts oceans ### Polar Projection - **Type & Creator:** Azimuthal Equidistant - 1581 - Guillaume Postel - **Benefits:** - Distances from the center (poles) are preserved. - **Purpose:** - Used by airline pilots to navigate best routes around the Earth - Used as an emblem on the United Nations flag - **Distortion:** - Distorts land size - Distorts parallels of latitude ## Geographical Tools ### Remote Sensing - Gathers information on Earth using sensors and instruments set at a far distance from what is being studied. - **Often used to track disasters and gather data on regions.** - **Ex)** Storm tracking satellites ### Global Positioning System (GPS) - Determines the absolute location of people, places, and geographic features on lines of latitude and longitude. - Uses satellites, radio signals, and receivers. - **Created** by US Department of Defense to locate and navigate between places on Earth. - **Also used for** data gathering and determining legal boundaries. - **The ability of GPS to track a person's exact location can be considered** an invasion of privacy, also known as Geoslavery. ### Geographic Information System (GIS) - Collects and stores georeferenced data. - **Created to improve** the functionality of maps and the spatial analysis of data. - **Criticized for being** too expensive, creating a power divide. - **All of these raise ethical questions regarding an individual's privacy.** - **All of these also** use satellites to carry out their function. ## Geographic Data: Qualitative vs Quantitative ### Qualitative Data - **Think:** What QUALITIES (traits) does it have? - **Data is subjective (opinion-based) and relies on the 5 senses.** - **This includes:** - Descriptions - Physical characteristics - Observations **Examples** - Color - Texture - Ethnicity ### Quantitative Data - **Think:** What QUANTITIES (numbers) does it have? - **Data is objective (fact-based and measurable) and relies on numbers and units of measurement.** **Examples** - Distance - Height - Percentages ## Key Population Statistics ### Fertility #### Crude Birth Rate (CBR) - Number of births per 1,000 people per year. - Shows trends as a whole instead of by age. - High in LDCs (Ex: Africa = 35). - Low in MDCs (Ex: Japan = 8, Europe = 10). #### Total Fertility Rate (TFR) - Average amount of kids a woman will have in her life. - Used to gage family sizes. - **Replacement Level:** Fertility rate in which population needs to replace itself. - TFR = 2.1. - High in LDCs (Ex: Niger = 7.2). - Low in MDCs (Ex: U.S = 1.8). ### Mortality #### Life Expectancy - The average age someone is expected to live based on death rates. - **Population Pyramid:** Would be top-heavy with a high life expectancy (Ex: Japan). #### Infant Mortality Rate - Number of infant deaths under 1 year old, per 1,000 births. - **Afghanistan:** Has the highest at 112.8 ### Rate of Natural Increase (RNI) - The percentage of growth in an area excluding migration. - (CDR - CBR) ÷ 10 - **High in LDCs (Ex:** Africa = 2.6%). - **Low in MDCs (Ex:** Japan = -2.1%). ### Crude Death Rate - The number of deaths per 1,000 people per year. - **Has overall decreased** because of better healthcare and medicine, but not true for all countries. - **Ex:** Lesotho = 15, Qatar = 1.5 ### Doubling Time - The amount of time it will take for a population to double in size. - 71 ÷ RNI ## Population Density - The pressure a population exerts on the land. ### Arithmetic Density - Number of people living in a given unit of land. - Does not take into account the different land types in an area. - **Ex:** Australia has an arithmetic density of 7 people per sq. km, while Japan has an arithmetic density of 340 people per sq. km #### Agricultural Density - Number of farmers per unit of arable land. ### Physiological Density - Number of people per unit of arable land. - **Arable Land:** Land that can be used for agriculture. - Takes into account that some land might be inhospitable. - **Ex:** US has a physiological density of 186 people while Egypt has 2,633. ## Population Distribution ### 3 Basic Dispersion Patterns - **Uniform:** Equally-spaced apart. - **Random:** No predictable pattern. - **Clumped:** Bunched in groups. ### Distribution Influencing Factors - **Physical** - **Climate:** Extreme areas have a ↓ pop density. *Ex:* Europe's temperate climate attracts many people. - **Water Bodies:** River valleys may also promote human settlements. *Ex:* Egypt - 95% of the population lives within 5 miles of the Nile River. - **Landforms:** Rugged terrain restricts the concentration of population in any area *Ex:* Himalayan Mts. have a ↓ pop. density. - **Human** - **Politics:** Stable/fair governments have a high pop. density. *Ex:* Sudan has an unstable gov't and a ↓ pop density. - **Economy:** Areas w/ developed markets and skilled workers bring in high populations. *Ex:* India has a huge economy and a ↑ pop. density. - **Culture:** Cultural practices and ethnic relationships can influence settlement. - **History:** Ancient settlement locations and colonialism have impacted pop. distribution. *Ex:* Nigeria, the US, and India, all former colonies, have ↑ pop. densities. ### Population Density - # of ppl per unit of land ### Population Distribution - Pattern of where the ppl live ### Major Population Clusters - East Asia - South Asia - Southeast Asia - Nigeria - Europe - Northeastern United States ## Population Policies ### Pro-Natalists - **What:** Increase Birth Rates / Total Fertility Rates. - **When:** DTM Stage 4. - **Problems:** - Uncontrolled birth rates. - Infertile mothers can't get benefits. - **Why:** - Low population. - Aging population. - Low fertility rates. - Decrease of birth rates. - **Policies:** - Banning sales of contraceptives (France). - Antiabortion laws can be enforced. - Money for additional children. - Cheaper baby needs (Clothes, diapers, food, etc.). - Workers paid during maternity/parental leave. ### Anti-Natalists - **What:** Decrease Birth Rates / Total Fertility Rates. - **When:** DTM Stage 2. - **Problems:** - Imbalance of male to female ratio. - Not reaching replacement level (TFR 2.1). - **Why:** - Low resources available for everyone. - Not enough space for settlement. - **Policies:** - Cheaper sales of contraceptives. - Increased prices of baby needs (Clothes, diapers, food, etc.). - No pay during maternity/parental leave. ## The Epidemiological Transition - The shift from infectious diseases to chronic diseases. - Aligns with the demographic transition model (DTM). - **Shows** most common causes of death in each stage of the DTM. - **As a country** develops more, the main cause of death shifts towards chronic diseases. - **The main cause of death** in LDCs are due to infectious diseases. - **The main cause of death** in MDCs are due to chronic diseases. ### Infectious Diseases - Spread from human to human. - Often temporary. - Caused by bacteria and/or viruses. - Prominent in LDCs. - More common due to poor sanitary regulations. - Occurs in stages 1 and 2 of the DTM. - **Examples** include measles and influenza. ### Chronic Diseases - In not spread from human to human, instead develops over time as the body becomes weaker. - Prominent in MDCs. - More common due to higher lift expectancy. - Can not be cured or prevented usually. - **Examples** include multiple sclerosis and arthritis. ## Population Pyramids - A bar graph that shows the age and gender composition of a population; helps us see population change in a country. ### Country Scale - United States - 2010 ### State Scale - California 2010 ### City Scale - San Francisco 2009 - The scale of the pyramid can change what it looks like. - The U.S. and CA have very similar pop. Pyramids. - San Francisco's pop. Pyramid is different from the other two. ### Population Pyramids and The DTM #### LDCs: Rapid Growth - Stage 1 - Stage 2 - Stage 3 #### MDCs: Slow Growth - Stage 4 - Stage 5 ## Demographic Transition Model (DTM) - Shows population change over time. - Based off population trends in Europe. - Observed by Warren Thompson. - Relates changes in RNI to social change as a result of urbanization and industrialization. - Describes a shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates over time. ### Stage 1: Preindustrial - (Until 1750) - **Birth Rate:** High because: - Children needed for farming. - Children die at an early age. - No family planning. - **Death Rate:** High because: - Disease - Famine - Poor medical knowledge - **Natural increase or decrease:** Stable or very slow increase. ### Stage 2: Early Industrial - (1750-1880) - **Birth Rate:** High because: - Children needed for farming. - Children die at an early age. - No family planning. - **Death Rate:** Falls rapidly because: - Contagious diseases - Improved medical care - Improved water supply - Improved sanitation. - **Natural increase or decrease:** Very rapid increase. ### Stage 3: Late Industrial - (1880-1970) - **Birth Rate:** Falling because: - Improved medical care. - Improved diet. - Industrialized. - **Death Rate:** Falls more slowly because: - Contagious diseases. - Improved medical care - Improved water supply - Improved sanitation. - **Natural increase or decrease:** Increases moderately. ### Stage 4: Post Industrial - (1970-Present) - **Birth Rate:** Low because: - Family planning. - Good health. - Improving status of women. - Later marriages. - **Death Rate:** Low because: - Chronic diseases. - Better health care. - Reliable food supply. - **Natural increase or decrease:** Stable or very slow increase. ### Stage 5: Declining - (Future) - **Birth Rate:** Very Low because: - Family planning. - Good health. - Improving status of women. - Later marriages - **Death Rate:** Low because: - Chronic diseases. - Better health care. - Reliable food supply. - **Natural increase or decrease:** ↑ Slow decrease. ## Migration Patterns - **Emigration:** Movement of people out of a specific place. - **Immigration:** Movement of people into a specific place. - **Circulation:** Temporary movement of people between places. - **Net Migration:** Total amount of people gained/lost by an area due to migration. - Immigration - Emigration = Net Migration - **Demographic Equation:** New Population = Old Population + (Births - Deaths) + Net Migration - **Chain Migration:** Movement of people to a place where they already have connections. ### Ravenstein's Laws of Migration - The majority of migrations are short distance and not across international borders. - Migration from a city allows space for more distant migration into that city. - Migration includes dispersion (leaving a location) and absorption (entering a new location). - Migration results in counterflows. - Long distance migration is most often to an urban area. - People in rural areas are more likely to migrate than people in urban areas. - Women are more likely to migrate within a country, while men are more likely to migrate to a new country. - People who migrate are generally single and in their twenties. - According to the gravity model larger, closer cities attract the most immigrants. - Highly educated or skilled workers in LDCs tend to migrate to MDCs in a process called brain drain. - The majority of migration occurs from LDCs to MDCS. ### Largest Current Migration Flows - Asia to Europe. - Asia to North America. - Latin America to North America. ## Voluntary Migration - People decide to move somewhere permanently/ or for long periods of time ### Pull Factors - Positive/favorable conditions that attract migrants to a certain place. - **Ex:** ↑ Job opportunities; Transportation. - **The 3 G's (GGG):** - God, Glory, Gold ### Push Factors - Negative/unfavorable circumstances that push people away from a certain place. - **Ex:** Poverty, Natural Disasters, No jobs, War. - **Caused By:** Environmental, Social, Political, and/or Economic Factors. ## Forced Migration - Occurs when a person, group, government, or other entity insists that another individual or group must relocate. - The people being moved have no say in where they are going or the conditions they are going in. ### Refugees - One who flees to another country out of concern for personal safety or to avoid persecution. - **Ex:** People from all over the Middle East (such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan) have sought refuge in Europe and North America because of civil unrest. ### Asylum Seekers - Someone who has migrated to another country in hopes of being given refugee status. - **Ex:** In the 1990s, European countries received a lot of asylum applicants due to the war that developed when Yugoslavia broke apart. ### Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) - People forcibly driven from their homes into another part of the same country. - **Ex:** Sudan is estimated to have more than 5 million IDPs due to civil war within its boundaries. ## Human Trafficking - Uses force, violence, or coercion to recruit people for work in exploitative conditions. - **Southeast Asia is the leading region from which victims are trafficked and they are mainly sent to places like Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia.** - An estimated 2-4 million people are trafficked annually. ## Population Theories ### Thomas Malthus - English Economist - Population growth leads to poverty and misery. - Environmental Determinist. - Did not consider technological advancements. - **Positive Checks:** Reduce population; famine, disease, etc. - **Preventative Checks:** Actions to prevent population growth; postponing marriage, less sex, etc. ### Neo-Malthusians - People who share similar ideas to Malthus. - World space and resources were limited, but the environment was not the determinant. - **Carrying Capacity:** The maximum number of people that can live on Earth comfortably. - Want strict population control. ### Ester Boserup - Danish Economist & Main Critic of Malthus. - As the population grows, there would be more technologies to produce more food. - **Possibilist**. - Argued food production could be increased. ### Cornucopians - "Necessity is the mother of invention." - **Cornucopian Theory:** Humans can innovate ways to expand the food supply. - People are a valuable resource. ## Women and Population ### Education - Women typically have much less access to education than men. - This trend in strongest in LDCs, and among impoverished areas. - **Ex:** Somalia - 95% of poorest females aged 7-16 have never attended school. - In recent decades, rates of higher education in women have increased. (mainly in MDCs). - Increased education leads to decreased fertility rates but increased participation in the work force. ### Economic Roles - Women have uneven participation in different sectors of the economy. - Concentrated in the service sector, in careers such as teaching and health care. - Underrepresented in jobs requiring higher education, such as STEM jobs including architecture or engineering. - **Gender Wage Gap:** A global trend in which women are paid less than men. - **Ex:** U.S. (2007) - median income for men was about $32,500, compared to about $20,000 for women. ### Political Roles - Women participate less in political affairs than men. - **Ex:** 2016 - only 22.8% of parliament members were female. - Similar to education and economy, this significant gap has been lessened in recent decades (mainly in MDCs). - **More educated women leads to greater political participation.** ### Fertility - **Fertility:** The births within a given population. - **Lower in MDCs:** - Women's increased education and participation in politics and the economy cause them to wait to have children. - **Ex:** Japan - fertility rates are decreasing as more women pursue careers rather than have children. - **Higher in LDCs:** - Earlier marriage and children due to lack of education or career. - **Ex:** Niger - highest total fertility rate of 6.62 (almost 7 children per woman). - **Gender roles provide** many women with a low status, and they do not have access to contraceptives or the opportunity for family planning. ### Mortality - **Mortality:** The deaths within a given population. - Educated women have a lower mortality rate, as they can pursue careers to financially support themselves and have access to healthcare. - **Ex:** Sub-Saharan Africa - maternal deaths would be reduced by 70% if all women had a primary education. - Women are often responsible for the nutrition of the family, especially the children. - Women's prenatal health impacts Infant Mortality Rates. - **Better prenatal healthcare = lower IMR** ## Aging Population - See pages 71-75 in book ### Death Rates Decreasing - Better Healthcare - Improved medical technology - Less infectious diseases ### Birth Rates Decreasing - Education of women - Less desire for large families. - Increased use of contraception. - Rising cost of having/raising children. ### Effects - Not as many people in the workforce. - Governments push pronatalist policies to maintain population. - Money spent on healthcare increases. - Services for elderly increase *Ex:* retirement homes. - Politicians become conservative to appeal to elderly. ### Age-Dependency Ratio - Number of people under 15 and over 65 / Number of people between 15 and 65 (working age). - **Japan 2050:** Japan is projected to have 40% of its population to be 65 years or older by 2050. Upside down pyramid (2050 Japan) - depicts an aging population. ### Blue Zones - Areas that have populations with substantially long lives. - **Okinawa, Japan.** - **Loma Linda, California** - **Ikaria, Greece** ## Young Populations - Young Populations are found mostly in LDCs. - Young populations occur in areas with short life-expectancies. - Age dependency in low in areas with young populations because there are few people over the age of 65. - CDR is high in these areas because people are dying at faster rates, preventing the population from aging. - Infant mortality is high because the death of infants prevents a population from aging. ### Age Dependency - The number of people under the age of 15 and over the age of 65 as a proportion of the working age population. ### Life Expectancy - The average number of years a person is expected to live given death rates within a given population. ### CDR (crude death rate) - The annual number of deaths per 1,000 people. ### Infant Mortality - The number of deaths of infants under one of age per 1,000 live births. ### Causes of Young Populations - Increasing fertility rates - Lower status and education of women. - Lack of family planning. - More desire for large families. - Short life expectancy and high CDR. - Less medical technology. - Minimal knowledge of good nutrition and hygiene. - Unstable political and social conditions. ### Effects of Young Populations - Less government spending on healthcare and pension. - More people in workforce. - Pronatalist policies were enforced by government to make up for high CDR. - Politicians target young people to get more votes. ## Cultural Adoption - The process of adapting to or borrowing traits from another culture while still keeping parts of one's original culture. - **Ex:** An Italian could live in the United States and adopt certain traits, such as speaking English, while keeping their native Italian customs/practices *Ex:* speaking Italian ### Acculturation - One cultural group adopting the practices of another cultural group. ### Assimilation - The gradual loss of cultural traits, beliefs, and/or practices from immigrant ethnic groups that distinguish them from others; the complete adjustment to a new culture while original values are replaced. - Promotoes the view of society as a melting pot. - **Can be voluntary or forced** - Ex: In North and South America, Australia, Africa, and Asia, colonial policies toward indigenous peoples frequently resulted in religious conversion, children forced to leave from their families, etc. ## Multiculturalism - The coexistence of more than one culture in ones values or a society/environment. - **Example:** Mexico is an example of a multicultural country, with people of ethnic groups including indigenous backgrounds, many European backgrounds, Africans, and a small Asian community. ## The Spread of Language - **Language:** A system of communication based on symbols that have agree upon meanings. - **Hearths:** Places where an idea has originated or begun. - **Language Hearths:** Places where people believe languages have begun. - **Language Families:** A collection of languages that share a common but distant ancestor. - **There are many language families, but the main ones are Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, and Niger-Congo.** ### 3 Major Language Families #### Indo-European - **Largest language family.** - **Includes**: English, Hindi. - **Has the MOST SPEAKERS** #### Sino-Tibetan - **Second** largest language family. - **Includes:** Chinese (Mandarin), Burmese. - **Has the MOST NATIVE SPEAKERS** #### Niger-Congo - **Africa's largest** language family. - **Includes:** Yoruba, Zulu - **Has the MOST LANGUAGES** ### Causes for Language Diffusion - **Political, economic, and religious forces influence language diffusion.** #### Religious - **Ex:** Muslims whose first language isn't Arabic have to learn the language in order to understand the Qur'an. #### Economic - **Ex:** Tourism and foreign business are main sources for revenue, therefore languages need to be know or learned in order to communicate. #### Political - **Ex:** The rise of the British empire across different countries spread out over the world influenced the spread of English as a result of English colonization. - **European colonization** played a major role in the diffusion of European languages such as Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese. - **Linguistic geographers** also consider the contexts in which language is used, such as a language, in one place, may be used at home, another in school, etc. ## Language Patterns Today - **Language:** System of communication based on symbols that have agreed upon meanings. - **Language Family:** A collection of languages that share a common but distant ancestor. ### Lingua Franca - A language used by people who don't speak the same language to communicate for trade or business. - **Can be** a single language or a mixture of multiple languages. - **English** is considered today's lingua franca because: - British colonization. - Majority of internet is in English. - Computer programming in English. - Spread of English films, music, and more. - **Indo-European:** Family with largest number of speakers. **Example:** English & Hindi - **Sino-Tibetan:** Has the language with largest amount of speakers (Mandarin Chinese). **Examples:** Burmese & Mandarin - **Afro Asiatic:** Longest recorded history of language family. **Examples:** Arabic & Hebrew. - **Niger-Congo:** Family with the highest number of languages. **Examples:** Yoruba & Zulu. ## Language Convergence and Divergence ### Language Convergence - When two or more languages come together to form one language that is a mixture of the languages. ### Creole Language - A language that develops from a pidgin language and is taught as a first language. - **Example:** Hawaiian Creole. ### Pidgin Language - A language that combines vocabulary and grammar from two or more languages. - **Example:** Tay Boi was is used between the French and Vietnamese when Vietnam was French colony. ### Language Divergence - When a language breaks into different dialects due to a lack of interaction among speakers. ### Dialects - Different versions of language based on grammar and pronunciation. ### Accent - The prounciation of a language, typically associated with nations, countries, or social classes. ### Isogloss - A line that marks