Transcript The Geography of Language

Die Geographie der Sprache
The Geography of Language
La Geografia di Lingua
Geographer’s Perspective
on Language
• Culture (people’s values/beliefs & material stuff)
• Language - FOUNDATION of culture, most
important medium by which culture is transmitted.
Geographer’s Perspective
on Language
•Languages structure the
perceptions of their speakers.
Attitudes,
understandings, and
responses are partly
determined by the
words available.
• Languages are a hallmark of
cultural diversity with distinctive
regional distributions.
Geographer’s Perspective
on Language
• Language is like
LUGGAGE – people
carry it with them
as they move from
place to place, pick
up new words and
contribute new
words to existing
languages.
Geographer’s Perspective
on Language
•Globalization of English vs preserving local languages
Geographer’s Perspective
on Language
• Migration and
Isolation explain
how a single
language can
later become
two or more. It
also can explain
regions of languages
and language
families.
Language Defined
LANGUAGE - Organized system of spoken words by
which people communicate with one another with
mutual comprehension (Getis, 1985).
Literary tradition –
system of written communication
Official language – used by government for laws,
reports, road signs, money, stamps…
Ch 5.1 Where are English
Speakers Distributed?
Origin and diffusion of English
English is 2nd most fluently spoken language in world
(Mandarin is 1st)
50 countries have English as their official language
1/3 of the world lives with English as official language
What is the USA’s official language?
Diffusion of English
Diffused throughout the world by hundreds of years of British
migration and colonialism since the early 1600s.
British Colonies = N America, India, S Pacific, S Africa
Development of English
Celts in England since
2000 BC, pushed out Germanic Tribes
(Beginning ca. 450 AD)
(Germany/Denmark)
• Jutes (N. Denmark)
settled in SE England
• Angles (S. Denmark)
settled in N England
• Saxons (NW Germany)
settled in SW England
All Germans spoke the same
language, but developed
independently due to migration.
Development of English
Vikings (Norway)
• 9th - 11th Centuries
Normans (French)
1066 - French took control of
England in Battle of Hastings
French became official
language for 300 years
(mostly spoken by elite).
Common people still spoke
English.
1204 – England lost control
of Normandy, attitude toward
French changed.
1362 – English official lang.
English is mix of German &
French
Development of English Adopted Words
Germanic Tribes (Germany/Denmark)
• kindergarten, angst, noodle, pretzel
Vikings (Norway)
• take, they, reindeer, window
Normans (French)
• renaissance, mansion, village, guardian
Dialects of English
DIALECT - a regional variation of a language in a local
area, distinguished by pronunciation, spelling, and
vocabulary. (i.e. southern drawl, Bostonian drop “r”)
Social Dialects - can denote social class and social standing.
Vernacular Dialects - the common, slang, and speech of a region.
Term
Is he fair dinkum?
Why I declare!
Down by the crick
bludger
mosquito hawk
nappies
Meaning
Location
Is he real or genuine?
Australia
That’s remarkable!
Deep South (U.S.)
Down by the stream (creek) Middle Atlantic States
freeloader; welfare
Australia
dragon fly
Southern U.S.
diapers
Britain/British Colonies
Dialects of England
Standard Dialect – acceptable dialect for government,
education, business, and mass communication (radio)
BRP – “British Received Pronunciation”
(British standard dialect)
Dialects in England are due to the different invaders
regions: Angles (north), Jutes (SE), Saxons (S & W)
Standard dialect spoken in London, Cambridge, Oxford
1476 printing press encouraged standardization
of spelling & grammar (still 3 main dialects)
Dialects of England
Differences between British and
American English
British English and American English are different due
to MIGRATION and ISOLATION.
Actually American English is closer to the original,
changed less since immigrant communities are more
conservative in preserving their language and culture.
Differences
Vocabulary – physical environment, natives
Spelling – Noah Webster’s dictionary
Pronunciation – due to isolation
(they communicated only through
the written word, no cellphones!)
Dialects in the United States
History - 13 colonies
1. New England (immigrants
from England)
2. Middle Atlantic
(Pennsylvania) more diverse:
immigrants from England,
Scotland, Ireland, Germany,
Holland, and Sweden
3. Southern (immigrants
from England)
Dialects in the United States
Current Dialect Differences
(follows the same pattern as
house type diffusion –
remember folk vs pop
culture?)
New England & Southern –
close to British heritage
Middle Atlantic –
standard dialect
(diffused west by
settlers)
Dialects in the United States
Isogloss – an area of distinct word usage or
pronunciation that can be defined by a distinct region
with boundaries. (usually follows dialectal regions: like
Southern, New England, & Midwest dialects in US)
Pail–bucket
Frying pan–skillet
brook–run–stream–branch–creek
flannel cake-flap jack–pancake
Hello-hey-wassup-howdy-how ya doin’
Coke-soda-pop
po’ boy-sub-torpedo-hoagie-hero
Isogloss Map of Soft Drink names