LANGUAGE Language is the means through which all










































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LANGUAGE Language is the means through which all other cultural values are communicated
What is Language? Language: a system of communication through speech. A collection of sounds that a group of people understands to have the same meaning. Many languages have a history of written communication but it is not necessary. 2
Language The distribution of language results from a combination of interaction and isolation Every language originates in a particular location and diffuses to other locations through the migration of it’s speakers. It is directly correlated to migration, the continuing connections between groups will determine the language similarities 3 6/8/2021
LANGUAGE Where are English language speakers distributed? Why is English related to other languages? Where are other language families distributed? Why do people preserve local languages? 4
Where are English Speakers distributed English is the official language in 50 countries. 1/3 of the world lives in a country where English is the official language. 5
Where did English come from? English is distributed throughout the world because of English migrants who colonized the world. 6
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Origin of English Celts arrive speaking Celtic around 2000 B. C. 450 A. D. Tribes from Europe push Celts into Northern and Western Britain (now Scotland Wales). Ø Invading tribes were Angles, Jutes and Saxons 8
Modern English evolved from the primary language spoken by Angles, Jutes and Saxons when they migrated 1, 500 years ago 9
Other Contributions So why is English so different from German? England was conquered by Normans (from Normandy France) in 1066. French became the national Language for 300 years. The English we know resulted from the combination of French (spoken by leaders) and the Germanic language (spoken by the common people). 10 6/8/2021
Dialects Dialect: a regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. Dialects result from isolation and new experiences. 11
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LANGUAGE Where are English language speakers distributed? Why is English related to other languages? Where are other language families distributed? Why do people preserve local languages? 15
Language relations Definitions: Language family: a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language (before recorded history). Language branch: a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language (several thousand years ago) Language group: collection of languages within a branch that share common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences. 16
FAMILY Branch Group 17 Group Branch Group
Language Family Trees
Romance 19 The Indo-European branch is the most extensively spoken language in the world (3 billion people)
Origins of the Indo-European Family Uncertain because it would have existed thousands of years before written records. Linguist use similar root words to try to trace back a “Proto-Indo. European” beginning” Diffusion through warfare and conquest VS Diffusion through peaceful food sharing 20 6/8/2021
Through Kurgan Conquest? 21
Through shared successful agricultural practices? 22
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Over time differences within the Indo-European Family emerged as a result of isolation 24 6/8/2021
The Germanic Branch 25 English is part of the Germanic branch of the Indo. European family because the language was spoken by Germanic tribes that invaded England 1, 500 years ago
The Indo-Iranian branch The branch with the most speakers Includes more than 100 individual languages, spoken by 1 billion people Romance 26 6/8/2021
Romance Branch Evolved from Latin (spoken by the Romans 2, 000 years ago) Romance 27 6/8/2021
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4 most widely used (French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese) developed separately thanks to physical boundaries 29 6/8/2021
LANGUAGE Where are English language speakers distributed? Why is English related to other languages? Where are other language families distributed? Why do people preserve local languages? 30
Where are other language families distributed? 31
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LANGUAGE Where are English language speakers distributed? Why is English related to other languages? Where are other language families distributed? Why do people preserve local languages? 35
Why do people preserve local languages? Language is intimately linked to the fate of ethnic groups English has flourished at the expense of other ethnic group’s languages • Today Difficulties arise because of competing languages, often along the boundaries between languages 36
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Peace through decentralization 38
The Dominance of English Lingua franca: a common language if international communication Pidgin: a simplified form of a lingua franca Lingua Franca’s of the past achieved dominance through migration and conquest. Today English diffuses rapidly around the world 39 through the snowball effect because of commerce, ease of travel and changes in technology.
The language of e-commerce 40 6/8/2021
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