Fundamentals of Human Geography Chapter 5 The Geography of Language

( I Chapter The Geography of Language What is Language ?

It is a verbal and nonverbal ( written , body language ) tool that we learned and used to communicate our thoughts and Values , document our lives , and express our cultural identities . Why Hollywood loves this creepy bird call and how do A language is used by members of the really use it to communicate with each other ( Source Vox ) same culture group or speech community to share complex emotions and ideas , something that may not be doable with languages used by other lifeforms ( birds , dolphins , bees ) Language and Culture

People may use language for a variety of reasons , such as to share information , question somebody , make promises , or greet others . Regardless of the reason , cultural norms such as the relationship between the participants ( strangers , family , close friends ) the setting ( home , work , park ) and the topic ( casual , confidential ) will determine what is considered appropriate for the conversation . Moreover , given that cultural norms shapes our language , researchers have been asking whether different languages may cause people to perceive reality differently and have different norms . For example , in the language spoken by a remote community in Australia , it doesn have terms like left and Instead , words like north , south , east , and west are used to describe locations and directions . 80 if you ask where something is , the answer might be that it to the southwest of , which requires speakers to have spectacular spatial orientation . How language shapes our perception of Read this article to see other examples of how languages might change the way different people Lastly , people may have different opinions and beliefs about a particular language regardless of the conversation or the speakers involved , such as Language is difficult to learn . You need to know Language to get ahead in the global marketplace .

HARDEST LANGUAGES IN THE WORLD An list of the hardest languages to learn in the world by one user . Source Curious Minds on , Classification and Distribution of Languages reality , languages borrow bits and pieces from other languages continuously . Diffusion of languages Languages move from their hearths to other places and find new speakers through Relocation diffusion ( migrants bring their native language with them to the new country conquerors force the conquered people to speak a new language ) Hierarchical diffusion ( inhabitants in major cities may first invent and adopt a new slang or expression , before it is introduced in smaller towns ) Contagious diffusion ( the use of a new slang may be popularized in a school as friends copy each other in their speech )

As languages are introduced in new locations , they may borrow words and expressions from the native language ( they are replacing , and Vice versa . Classification of Languages To organize today different languages , linguists group related languages with similar pronunciation , vocabulary , grammar , history , and literary heritage into the same language family in a language tree . A language family tree illustrated Minna illustration shows the development of the language Some of the world major language families are

' Location of the world major language families ( Source Commons ) Languages within the same family that have a similar origin , vocabulary , and grammar relative to other members of the family may be further grouped into the same language subfamily . Below , take a look at some of the within the language family . The European language family has the largest number of speakers today . Keep in mind that many lingua franca , official languages used across a wide area by many people who are not necessarily native speakers of them , of the past ( Latin , French ) and present ( English ) also came from the European language family . Germanic subfamily ( English , German , Swedish ) Romance subfamily ( French , Spanish , Italian ) Slavic subfamily ( Russian , Polish , Bulgarian ) Indic ( or ) subfamily ( Hindi , Bengali ) Iranian subfamily ( Persian , Kurdish ,

Map of the main languages in Map of the main languages in ( Source Commons ) Aside from today languages ( English , Chinese ) there are also language variants that have developed over time as different language speakers come into contact with each other . They include Dialects mutually intelligible variants of the same language used by people of different nationalities or ethnicity that may have differences in pronunciation , vocabulary , sentence structure ( British English , American English , Vernacular English ) Pidgin language invented by speakers of distinct languages who need a common language to talk about trade . Pidgin tends to have a simplified grammar , and a limited vocabulary with many borrowed words from the native languages of its inventors ( Chinese Pidgin English ) Creole a more developed form of pidgin with a more complex vocabulary and grammar . Unlike pidgin , a creole may be the native language or mother tongue of a population ( i Creole English )

Slang words or expressions that are not part of a standard language , but are invented , used , and understood by some speakers who may be from a particular subculture ( teenagers , surfers ) Vox funk , reggae and join me in watching this concert masterfully performed by Vox , who performs in Loss of Languages Heading for extinction ?

As the international language of business , English is the world most commonly studied language today . While this may be helpful to some in today increasingly globalized and interconnected world , others worry that the dominance of English will lead to the extinction of some languages as suggested by the statistics below There are languages in the world , but 66 of the world population speaks only 12 of the major languages . About languages have less than native speakers . Half of the world spoken languages will disappear by the end of this century . In many countries , parents are teaching their children the national or official language rather than their indigenous languages . As one mother in Nepal explains

I thought they her children should learn because it is useful . People would make fun ofour language , and say it was normal . speakers faced a lot . But now I feel regretful that I ca converse with my own children in our own The language that has no words for ' Learn about the language , and how language loss may damage in ?

Languages in the US Although English is the most commonly used language in the United States , English is not the official language of the United States despite repeated attempts by supporters of the Movement to change that over the past decades . American Dialects Dialect map of American English speakers do not all speak the same way . English can be subdivided into dialects However , even within the US , scholars such as Robert have identified and mapped ( see the link above ) more than 25 different English dialects that are in use based on differences in their pronunciation , vocabulary , grammar , settlement history , and other factors .

The US has a rich diversity of languages even before the arrival of the European settlers and the introduction of languages to North America . It was estimated that 500 to Native American languages Were in A geographical analysis of languages spoken at home the US in the fifteenth century . Today , immigrants from Asia , Latin America , and other parts of the world contribute to the evolution of the linguistic landscape . According to the US Census Bureau , the top five languages other than English spoken at home ( see the poster on the right ) are Spanish , Chinese , French , and Vietnamese . HERE , 100 mi Powered by This map shows the percentage of people ( over years old ) within a census tract who speaks only English at home

according to the US Census Bureau American Community Survey estimate ( 2020 ) HERE , Gamin , 100 mi al Powered by This map shows the percentage of people ( over years old ) within a census tract who speaks a language other than English at home according to the US Census American Community Survey estimate ( 2020 )

Cheyenne Salt Lake City City tar A 100 Powered by This map shows the percentage of people ( over years old ) within a census tract who speaks Spanish at home according to the US Census Bureau American Community Survey year estimate ( 2020 ) Cheyenne Salt Lake City Denver City Las Vegas Santa Fe Albuquerque Los Angeles tar HERE USES , A 100 mi la Powered by This map shows the percentage of people ( over years old ) within a census tract who speaks an language other than Spanish at home according to the US Census Bureau American Community Survey estimate ( 2020 )

Cheyenne Salt Lake City Denver City no Las I Santa Fe In Albuquerque , A 100 la Powered by This map shows the percentage of people ( over years old ) within a census tract who speaks an Asian or Island language at home according to the US Census American Community Survey estimate ( 2020 )

, A 100 mi Powered by This map shows the percentage of people ( over years old ) within a census tract who speaks a language that is neither in the family nor an Asian or Island language at home according to the US Census American Community Survey estimate ( 2020 ) Languages in the Physical and Digital Worlds Place names or can provide clues on the history and beliefs of the people who named ( or renamed ) those physical places . For example , the name of New York replaced its earlier name of New Amsterdam when the English conquered the land from the Dutch , and decided to name it New York in honor of the Duke of York ( a historic city in northern England ) Why Did Changed its Name ?

Africa last absolute monarch has marked his country birthday by changing the country In the digital world , social media enabled users worldwide to create and exchange information and ideas through blogs , forums , product reviews , social gaming , and websites . Researchers have found that nearly 80 percent of American adults are online and nearly 60 percent of them use social media . With so many people relying on social media for everything from friendship to getting the news , it is no surprise that our language has been changed by social media as well . For

example , users often use acronyms in their digital speech ( LOL Laughing out loud ) use a symbol to replace part of a word in a technique known as rebus writing ( great ) or use symbols such as ( to convey entire words , ideas , or emotions . List of Wikipedia Did you know that people from different parts of the world have and use different styles of ?

of While social media allows many users to share memories and interact almost simultaneously across space and time , there are increasing concerns about data privacy , information overload , misinformation , its effects on mental health , and the occurrence of online harassment and cyberbullying . I Why you keep using , even if you hate it ( Source Vox ) By Wing Cheung , College Keeping the world interesting one map at a time

Fundamentals of Human Geography by Wing Cheung is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International ( BY )