Week 5 Languages slides

Week 5 Overview

  • Focus: Languages

  • Required Readings and Activities:

    • Read Chapter 5 of Rubenstein.

    • Review lecture slides for the week.

  • Assignments and Deadlines:

    • Language Forum Posts #2 Due 09/23, 11:59 PM

    • Group Reflection Paper #1 Due 09/25, 11:59 PM

    • Exam #2 Closes 09/24, 11:59 PM

    • Start Assignment #1 Due 10/09, 11:59 PM

Language Distribution and Diversity

Key Language Issues

  • Questions of distribution, diffusion, variation, survival, and extinction of languages.

Language Classification

  • Languages are organized into families, branches, and groups.

  • Classification based on usage includes:

    • Institutional Language: Used in work, education, and government.

    • Developing Language: Daily use across all ages.

    • Vigorous Language: Widely used in daily conversation but lacks a literary tradition.

    • Threatened Language: Used for face-to-face communication but declining in speakers.

    • Dying Language: Primarily spoken by older generations, not transmitted to children.

The Language Family Tree

  • More than 250 language families exist worldwide, totaling over 6,800 unique languages.

  • Language Family: Related languages stemming from a common ancestor.

  • Language Branch: Subset of a family with a common ancestral language.

  • Language Group: More recent ties within a branch.

Major Language Families and Examples

  • Indo-European Family

    • Germanic Branch: Dutch, German, English.

    • Romance Branch: French, Spanish, Italian.

    • Slavic Branch: Russian, Polish, Czech.

    • Additional branches include Celtic, Baltic, Hellenic, and others.

Global Language Distribution

  • Distribution of Major Languages:

    • Most widely spoken language families include:

      • Sino-Tibetan: e.g., Mandarin Chinese.

      • Afro-Asiatic: e.g., Arabic.

      • Niger-Congo: e.g., Swahili.

    • Austronesian Languages: Widely spread across Pacific islands, including many dialects.

Language Variation

Dialects and Regional Variations

  • A dialect is a variation of a language distinguished by vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling.

  • U.S. Dialects:

    • North: Origin in East Anglia, developing in New England.

    • South: Derived from Southeastern England.

    • Midland: Northern England roots.

Unique Cases of Language Usage

  • Pidgin Language: Uses elements from multiple languages, lacks native speakers.

  • Creole Language: Developed from a mixture of colonizer and indigenous languages.

Official Languages

  • Official languages are utilized by governments for public business.

  • The United Nations officially recognizes six languages: English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.

Language Survival and Endangerment

Endangered Languages

  • Defined as those no longer passing to children or used sparingly by remaining speakers.

  • Over 2,400 languages categorized as endangered worldwide.

Isolated and Extinct Languages

  • Isolated Language: Not related to any other; e.g., Basque.

  • Extinct Language: No longer in use; e.g., Liv, Clallam.

Preservation Efforts

  • Movements to revive languages such as Celtic languages are ongoing with support from governments and organizations like the UN.

  • Hebrew revival linked to the establishment of Israel in 1948.

New and Growing Languages

  • Some languages are being revived or created, such as Myaamia among the Miami people in Oklahoma.