1st Human Geography study guide

What is a dialect?

A dialect is a variation within a language involving differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, speed, and rhythm.

Give an example of vocabulary differences between dialects.

"Paraffin":UK = kerosene, US = candle wax

What features make up a dialect?

Vocabulary, Pronunciation (accent), Rhythm and speed of speech

What is a social dialect?

A dialect associated with a social group or class, such as upper-class British English, Cockney, or American "redneck/hick."

What is a regional (spatial) dialect?

A dialect shaped by geography, such as Scottish vs. English, or Northern vs. Southern US English.

Why do regional dialects form?

Because of physical or social isolation (mountains, islands, rural areas, separated communities).

Example of spatial dialect differences in the U.S.?

South: "Y'all", North: "You guys", Pennsylvania: "Yinz/Yuns", New England: "Brook" vs. Virginia: "Branch"

Why do most people not notice their own dialect?

Because everyone around them speaks similarly — awareness comes from traveling or meeting outsiders.

Why is Northern Ireland divided?

Because of 400 years of tension between Protestants (majority) and Catholics (large minority) dating back to the 1600s English/Scots settlement.

Why can't Northern Ireland be split into two separate religious regions?

Because Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods are highly mixed geographically.

What is the "Peace Wall"?

A 25-foot barrier in Belfast separating Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods.

Which groups dominate politically?

Historically: Protestants, Catholics have faced discrimination in jobs, housing, and politics.

What peace agreement attempted to resolve tensions?

The Good Friday Agreement (1996).

Which countries have the largest Muslim populations?

Not in the Middle East — the largest are Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia.

What is Balkanization?

The fragmentation of a region into hostile or ethnically divided states (term based on the Balkan Peninsula).

Why did Yugoslavia break apart?

Because after dictator Tito died, suppressed ethnic tensions re-emerged (Serbs, Croats, Bosnians, Kosovars).

What religions/ethnicities made up Yugoslavia?

Serbs = Orthodox, Croats/Slovenes = Catholic, Bosnians = Muslim

Why is the Balkans a hotspot of division?

Mountainous geography isolated groups for centuries, leading to distinct languages, religions, and identities.

What do Eastern religions share?

A cyclical view of time and reincarnation.

What is Jainism's main belief?

Ahimsa (nonviolence) toward all living beings.

Why do Jains wear masks and sweep the ground?

To avoid killing insects — all life has equal souls.

Four Noble Truths of Buddhism?

Life is suffering, Suffering comes from desire, Ending desire ends suffering, Follow the Eightfold Path

Who founded Buddhism?

Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) around 400 BCE.

What do Buddhism and Jainism reject from Hinduism?

The caste system.

What is Sikhism's view of God?

The universe is God (panentheistic), not a separate personal deity.

Key Sikh practices?

Equality, non-caste, turbans, kirpan (ceremonial knife), military tradition.

What event worsened Sikh-Indian government relations in 1984?

Indian Army stormed the Golden Temple, killing 500+ Sikhs; Indira Gandhi was assassinated afterward.

What is a language family?

A group of related languages from a common ancestor.

Largest language family in the world?

Indo-European (about half the world).

Major Indo-European branches?

Germanic (English, German), Romance (Spanish, French, Italian), Slavic (Russian, Polish), Indo-Iranian (Hindi, Farsi)

What is a language isolate?

A language unrelated to any other. Example: Basque.

What is a lingua franca?

A common trade language. Examples: English (aviation), Swahili (Africa).

Why is English used in aviation?

To ensure safety and rapid, universal communication.

What are the three major influences on English?

Germanic (Angles/Saxons/Jutes), Viking/Scandinavian, French (Norman Conquest, 1066)

What words come from Vikings?

Words with "sk" — skull, scrape.

Why does English have many synonyms?

French added "fancy" words; Germanic kept simpler ones.

Examples of English double vocabulary?

French vs. English:"Beef" vs. "cow", "Pork" vs. "pig", "Deceased" vs. "dead"

What is a dead language?

A language no longer evolving or spoken as a native tongue (Latin).

Example of a revived language?

Hebrew (revived in late 1800s).

What is intensive subsistence agriculture?

Farming small plots to produce large amounts of food; most common example: rice.

Why is Bangladesh ideal for rice farming?

It is a floodplain with renewed alluvial soil.

What was the Green Revolution?

Technological advances (mechanization, fertilizers, GMOs) increasing global food production.

What are GMOs?

Crops genetically modified for higher yield or resistance (e.g., Bt corn, Roundup-Ready soybeans).

Why do clothing/assembly factories locate in "lower middle income" countries?

They offer low wages + reliable infrastructure.

How much of a $100 shoe goes to the worker?

About $0.40 (0.4%).

What is the spatial division of labor?

High-skill work in core countries; labor-intensive manufacturing in periphery nations.

What does the Gini coefficient measure?

Income inequality (0 = perfectly equal, 1 = perfectly unequal).

Does the United States have high or low inequality?

High — about 0.45, unusual for a developed country.

Which regions are most equal?

Scandinavia: Norway, Sweden, Finland (around 0.20-0.30).

Why did Irish Gaelic rapidly decline?

English control, The Great Famine, Economic pressure to use English, School punishment (tally sticks)

What is a mental map?

The internal map of places or ideas (like mapping world language families).

Why does Switzerland avoid language conflict?

Long tradition of decentralized government + cooperation, despite four languages.