Language Lecture - 2024 PDF

Language Language – a set of sounds, combinations of sounds, and symbols that are used for communication.  Ranked: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Around the World Most common languages  The Most Spoken Language in Every U.S. State (Besides English and Visual Capitalist...

Language Language – a set of sounds, combinations of sounds, and symbols that are used for communication.  Ranked: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Around the World Most common languages  The Most Spoken Language in Every U.S. State (Besides English and Visual Capitalist Spanish) Language as Element of Cultural Diversity 6000+ Languages spoken today, not including dialects 1500+ Spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa alone 400+ in New Guinea alone 100+ in Europe However, this diversity is diminishing: 2000+ Threatened or Endangered Languages https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldv iews/wp/2014/01/13/40-more-maps-that-explai n-the-world/ Endangered Languages As recently as 3,000 years ago, there were 10,000 to 15,000 languages in the world. Now: about 6000 left. Of those, 1/2 will be gone by the year 2100 and all but 500 of the rest will be endangered. More than 90 percent of the languages in existence today will be extinct or threatened in little more than a century if current trends continue.  Language – Any systematic method of communicating ideas, attitudes, or intent – An organized system of spoken words by which people communicate with each other with mutual comprehension  Cont… A set of commonly accepted signs (indices, icons or symbols) is only one feature of language; all languages must define (i) the structural relationships between these signs in a system of grammarA set of commonly accepted signs (indices, icons or symbols) is only one feature of language; all languages must define (i) the structural relationships between these signs in a system of grammar, (ii) the context wherein the signs are used (pragmaticsA set of commonly accepted signs (indices, icons or symbols) is only one feature  Hello - English Namaste - Hindi Sawasdee - Thai Ni hao - Mandarin Shalom - Hebrew Konichiwa - Japanese Bonjour - French Guten Tag - German Dzien Dobry - Polish Hola - Spanish Dia Duit - Irish Salam - Persian Ciao - Italian Gooie dag - Dutch Hei - Norwegian Oi - Portuguese Szervusz - Hungarian Goddag - Danish Zdravo - Serbo-Croation Chao - Vietnamese Jambo - Kiswahili  Standard/ Official is a particular varietyis a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. As it is usually the form promoted in schools and the media, it is usually considered by speakers of the language to be more "correct" in some sense than other dialects.  Examples Formal English is used in “serious” texts and situations — for example, in official documents, books, news reports, articles, business letters or official speeches. Informal English is used in everyday conversations and in personal letters.  Official language As the price of five dollars was reasonable, I decided to make the purchase without further thought. The same thought would be expressed quite differently in informal English. Here’s an actual example that I heard from a young American: It was, like, five bucks, so I was like “okay”.  Slang consists of a lexiconconsists of a lexicon of non-standard words and phrases in a given language.  Your Slang Doe An alternative term for the word “though” ‘dat pasta doe’ ‘for real doe’ Killin’ it basically means the awesomer version of awesome. That’s where “killin’ it” comes in. Turn up Turn up is used to described the state of being wild, and crazy turning up to volume of the party ‘Turn down for what’ ‘The turn up is real’ there’s also ‘ Turnt up’, keep it all the way turnt up Deligious A drink or dessert so Delicious that it inspires a religious experience. This is a new word that we can thank a contributor to the Urban dictionary for. That pie was deligous, I am floating! Bounce When it is time to leave it is time to bounce. Yet bounce can also be used to denote a change in ideas, a change in venue, or even a relationship change. Here are examples for bounce. this party is boring let’s bounce.  What makes slang It lowers, if temporarily, "the dignity of formal or serious speech or writing"; in other words, it is likely to be considered in those contexts a "glaring misuse of register." Its use implies that the user is familiar with whatever is referred to, or with a group of people who are familiar with it and use the term. "It's a taboo term in ordinary discourse with people of a higher social status or greater responsibility." It replaces "a well-known conventional synonym". This is done primarily to avoid discomfort caused by the conventional synonym or discomfort or annoyance caused by having to elaborate further.  Dialect A dialect is a variety is a variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social  Dialect variants of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines - vocabulary -syntax - pronunciation - cadence - pace of speech Isogloss A geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs  Texas Dialect https://matadornetwork.com/life/15-expressi ons-need-learn-coming-texas/  Why Do People Living in Distinct Locations Speak English Differently? Isolation over long periods of time Integration with other cultures Interplay of migrants  Language and Culture Who we are as a people reinforced and redefined through shared language Reflects where the culture has been, its values, etc. Easiest way to examine the impact of language on culture is to examine loss of language as a result of pressure from others (colonization)  Language and Culture cont. Shared language makes people visible to each other and to the world binds cultural identity personal reveals how people/cultures view reality  1940's ack-ack, apartheid, atom bomb, baby-sit, barf, bazooka, cheeseburger, crash-land, flying saucer, gobbledygook 1950's aerospace, alphanumeric, brainstorming, car wash, cha-cha, digitize, do-it-yourself, ethnohistory, in-house, meter maid 1960's area code, ASCII, biohazard, Brownie point, crib death, doofus, disco, glitch, microwave oven, Op-Ed, sexism 1970's airhead, bean counter, biofeedback, deadbeat dad, diskette, electronic mail, junk food, gentrify, surrogate mother 1980's AIDS, boom box, caller ID, channel surf, cyberpunk, dis, fragile X syndrome, greenmail, sandwich generation, trophy wife, voice mail, wannabe 1990's anatomically correct, bad hair day, brux, digerati, granny dumping, medicide, netnanny, olestra, soccer mom, step aerobics, uptalk, World Wide Web  The Geography of Language Students will be able to identify and define: 1. What are Languages, types, dialects 2. What role Languages play in Culture Where Are Languages Distributed? World’s languages organized into: – Language Families: collection of languages related through a common ancestral language – Language Branches: collection of languages within a family related through a common ancestral language. Differences are not as significant or as old as between families. – Language Groups: collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display similar grammar and vocabulary.  Historical Linkages among Languages Indo-European language family Proto-Indo-Europe an language Nostratic Language  How are Languages Formed? Can find linkages among languages by examining sound shifts – a slight change in a word across languages over time. eg. Milk = lacte in Latin latta in Italian leche in Spanish lait in French  Example of Sound Shifts English – father German – Vater Dutch – vader Icelandic – faðer Norwegian – fader http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-me dia/34/2034-004-9211C072.gif  More Exceptions PIE – pətēr Latin – pater Greek – patēr English – father Gothic – fadar [faðar] Icelandic faðir Old English – fæder [fæðer]  Mutual Intelligibility Means two people can understand each other when speaking. – Problems: Cannot measure mutual intelligibility Many “languages” fail the test of mutual intelligibility Standard languages and governments impact what is a “language” and what is a “dialect”  How are Languages Formed? Language divergence – when a lack of spatial interaction among speakers of a language breaks the language into dialects and then new languages. Language convergence – when peoples with different languages have consistent spatial interaction and their languages collapse into one.  How do Linguists Study Historical Languages? Backward reconstruction – tracking sound shifts and the hardening of consonants backward to reveal an “original” language. – Can deduce the vocabulary of an extinct language. – Can recreate ancient languages (deep reconstruction)  Impact/Influences on Languages Nationalism- way to create a sense of national identity. Globalization- impact of- seen as a threat to languages but also a way to maintain them. Technology- Internet and cell phones- decrease impact of distance decay.  How do Languages Diffuse? human interaction print distribution migration trade rise of nation-states colonialism  Global Language Is a global language the principle language people use around the world in their day-to-day activities? OR Is a global language a common language for trade and commerce used around the world?  Key Term 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  Lingua Franca The use of lingua francas has existed since antiquity. The first example of lingua franca in the ancient world, before Greek and Latin, was Aramaic. Latin and Koine Greek were the lingua francas of the Roman Empire and the Hellenistic culture. Akkadian (died out during Classical antiquity) and then Aramaic remained the common languages of a large part of Western Asia from several earlier empire  Types of Diffusion Their speakers occupy new territories, or because they acquire new speakers – spatial diffusion Through massive population relocation in which culture is transported to and made dominant in a new territory – relocation diffusion When the advantages of a language are evident and it is adopted – expansion diffusion with acculturation The people who are power seekers learn and adopt the language first, and then everyone else learns – hierarchical diffusion  Isogloss is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistic is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature  How to Write Down a Language? Roots of Language Ideograms - Sumerian; Chinese; Egyptian; Japanese Phonetic Most languages, including Romance languages Symbols (letters) represent sounds, not ideas. A phonetic alphabet is the key innovation.  Population Chinese character “ren kou,” captures the essence of the term “population”: a stick figure (person) plus a hollow square (mouth) - or people needing to be fed.  The word "China"[nb 1] is derived from Cin (‫)ﭼﯾن‬, a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo.), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo.), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo. In early usage, "china), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo. In early usage, "china" as a term for porcelain was spelled differently than the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words.), a Persian name for China popularized in Europe by Marco Polo. In early usage, "china" as a term for porcelain was spelled differently than the name of the country, the two words being derived from separate Persian words. Both these words are derived from the Sanskrit word Cīna (चीन),), used as a name for China as early as AD 150.), used as a name for China as early as AD 150. The origin of this word is the subject of several conflicting scholarly theories.), used as a name for China as early as AD 150. The origin of this word is the subject of several conflicting scholarly theories. The traditional theory, proposed in the 17th century by Martin Renfrew Hypothesis: Proto-Indo-European began in the Fertile Crescent, and then: From Anatolia diffused Europe’s languages From the Western Arc of Fertile Crescent diffused North Africa and Arabia’s languages From the Eastern Arc of Fertile Crescent diffused  Agriculture Theory With increased food supply and increased population, speakers from the hearth of Indo-European languages migrated into Euro  Dispersal Hypothesis Indo-European languages first moved from the hearth eastward into present-day Iran and then around the Caspian and into Europe.  Conquest theory 1. Some believed the Proto-Indo-European language originated somewhere north of the Black Sea in the vast steppes of Ukraine and Russia 2. The language then spread west judging by the sound shifts 3. More than 5000 years ago, these people used horses, developed the wheel, and traded widely Vladislav Illich-Svitych & Aharon Dolgopolsky (Russian scholars) views: Nostratic 1. Believed to be the ancestral language for many other languages 2. May date back 14,000 years 3. links widely separated languages 4. direct successor of a proto-world  Little Sweden, USA (Lindsborg, KS) Why did the residents of Lindsborg define it as a Swedish place? neolocalism: seeking out the regional culture and reinvigorating it in response to the uncertainty of the modern world. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. Esperanto  Spatial Interaction helps create: Lingua franca – A language used among speakers of different languages for the purposes of trade and commerce. Pidgin language – a language created when people combine parts of two or more languages into a simplified structure and vocabulary. Creole language – a pidgin language that has developed a more complex structure and vocabulary and has become the native language of a group of people.  LANGUAGE FAMILIES (FOCUS ON: AUSTRO-ASIATIC LANGUAGE FAMILY)