Introduction to Language

1.Creole: If a pidgin becomes the first language of a group of speakers, this language has evolved.

2.Creolization: A pidgin language that has survived long enough and is wide-spread enough to become the primary language.

Creoles acquire more complex grammatical structure and enhanced vocabulary.

3.Dialect: display variations in vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm, and speed at which the language is spoken

variants of standard language along regional or ethnic lines

4.isogloss: isolines of language

5.language family: a collection of languages that existed long before recorded history

6.language group: a collection of languages within a subfamily branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past

7.language subfamily: collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousand years ago

8.Lingua franca: a third language used by people who speak different first languages who could not otherwise understand each other

9.Official Language: official records are kept and government business is conducted by law in this language; It is often the language of rule

10.Pidgin: a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common

11.Social dialect: denotes social class and educational level. Those of lower class are more likely to use the vernacular (nonstandard) language

12.Standard Language: uses the accepted community norms of syntax, vocabulary, and pronunciation

The "experts" (generally a committee of linguist and scholars) on language make the decisions about what is "correct" in language. This standardization is done based on the common usage of words by the general population. It is fluid and changes over time. This fluidness is why definitions, spellings, and acceptance of usage change over time. The English we speak today is very different than the English spoken by the English settlers who brought the language to North America 400 years ago.

13.Syntax: the way words are put together to form a phrase

Diffusion of Language

1.Agriculture Theory: as farming spread from Anatolia (Turkey), so did proto-Indo-European. The concept of farming is thought to have spread about 45-50 miles a century from it's hearth in the Fertile Crescent.

2.Backward Reconstruction: the technique used to track sound shifts backwards in time

3.Barriers to diffusion of language: Cultural barriers

Greeks resisted Turkish rule and clung to their language.

The French

Basques

Topography

The Caucasus, The Pyrenees, the

The Brazilian Rain Forest

4.Catalyst of diffusion of languages: Radio: Standardized spoken language

Wider diffusion

5.Catalyst of diffusion of languages: Technology: can both increase vulnerability and create a vehicle for preservation

6.Catalyst of diffusion of languages: Television and the Movies: American English has come to dominate

7.Catalyst of diffusion of languages: The Internet: 83% of all web pages are in English

8.Catalyst of diffusion of languages: The Printing Press: Standardized written languages

Aided in diffusion

9.Cognate: Words in different languages that come from the same original word or root

10.Conquest Theory: Early speakers of Proto-Indo-European spread westward on horseback, overpowering earlier inhabitants and beginning the diffusion and differentiation of Indo-European tongues.

11.Deep Reconstruction: the recreation of ancient languages using backward reconstruction

12.Expansion diffusion: Contagious: Proto-Indo-European languages and agriculture

Acculturation

New languages are deemed advantageous and are adopted by native speakers of another language. (Africa, Native Americans)

13.Expansion diffusion: Hierarchical: Occurs when those who aspire to positions of importance are the first to adopt the language of control and prestige. (South Asia)

Terms used by specific groups

Scientists/technology

14.Expansion diffusion: Stimulus: Alphabets

Phoenician alphabet

Cyrillic alphabet

Chinese alphabet

Illiterate societies

15.Extinct Language: Languages that are no longer in use

16.Greenberg Hypothesis: The indigenous languages of the Americas belong to three language families

17.Language and Political Organization of Space: In some regions, political boundaries of coincide with languages. In other regions they do not.

Languages are closely associated with ethnic groups and the concepts of nations. Generally, nation-states have more historical stability than multi-national states. notice the variance of languages in the Balkan Peninsula and reflect on the Balkan war in the 1990s. In the slide of Africa, the boundary of two languages meets in Sudan where recently Sudan and South Sudan split. Multiple languages aren't always a problem in a country but they can be centripetal forces.

18.Language convergence: The combination of two languages

This results from consistent spatial interaction of people with different language in the same area

Often starts as pidgin and moves to creole

Examples:

Spanglish

Louisiana Creole

19.Language divergence: Speakers of the same language scatter and develop variations of the original language to fit their new location.

Eventually, a nearly new language could result

20.Language replacement: When languages of people are replaced, or greatly modified, by the languages of invaders

21.Preliterate Society: A society that has not developed writing

22.Relocation Diffusion: occurs when massive migration transports a culture to and becomes dominant in a new location. (Bantu, Arabic)

23.Renfrew Model: Three areas in and near the first agricultural hearth, the Fertile Crescent, gave rise to three language families

Europe's Indo-European languages spread from Anatolia (present-day Turkey)

North African and Arabian languages spread from areas near present-day Israel, Jordan, and Syria

languages in present-day Iran, Afghanistan and India began in present day Iran

24.Sound Shift: The change in pronunciation of words in a language over time.

Examples (bite and mate)

25.Toponym: a place name

Geographic features

People

Historical events

Culture groups

Language Patterns and Distribution

1.Belgium: The Northern region of Belgium is Flemish (the region of the Flanders). The southern region is French (Region of Wallonia). 85% of locals in Brussels speak French even though they are in the North. During the 19th Century French speakers controlled industry and government of the country. The French speaking elite in Brussels and other Flemish cities began a process of "frenchification". Many northerners surrounding Brussels opposed this movement. The Flemish leadership initially sought linguistic rights (Flemish in schools, court, public offices, etc.), but they began to get frustrated with French opposition. In the 1920s, the Flemish leadership called for partition along linguistic lines. In the 1960s a fixed language partition came to exist. Brussels is recognized as a distinct district.

The capital (Brussels) is bilingual, but there is strict use of Flemish in the rest of Northern Belgium. Brussels's role as the European Union (EU) principle capital may prevent Belgium (and its capital) from ever splitting into two countries, but there is significant push for that to happen. Brussels moved to the federal system in order to accommodate different linguistic areas.

2.Canada: French in Quebec: Canada is officially bi-lingual - this means Canadian Law recognizes both English and French as official languages of the country. In 1977, a law was passed in Quebec that all business was to take place in French. This led to flight to Ontario (English speakers moved out of Quebec and into Ontario, an adjacent province). In 1993, it was decided that advertising would also be in French. You could have a bilingual sign as long as French as 2x the size as the English print. In Quebec, new immigrants must also learn French. These are examples of protectionist policies that were introduced to keep English from spreading into the province and "drowning out" the French language.

There is a separatist movement in Quebec in which the Québécois are calling for independence. In 1995 they came within a few thousand votes of succeeding from Canada.

3.Cyprus: 1974 green line separated the Turks in the north from the Greeks in the South. There is religious separation involved in this case as well. Now that Cyprus is part of the EU, there is incentive for the groups to get along peacefully.

4.Ethnolinguistic Areas of China: Chinese falls under the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese grapholect (written language) is based on ideographs. The challenge with this system is that, in order to be considered literate, you must memorize thousands of symbols. The spoken language varies. China has two pronunciation systems: Wade Giles and Pinyin. Wade Gyles is the old and Pinyin is the newer, standardized, system.

Wade Giles: Mao Tsetung, Peking

Pinyin: Mao Zedong, Beijing

Some argue that Chinese is not just 1 language but several languages. Chinese is the individual language spoken by more people than any other language. Mandarin is the most dominant dialect with 700 million speakers. Wu Chinese has 100 million and Cantonese has 70 million speakers.

The Tibetan language is located to the west.

5.Ideograph/Ideogram: the symbols that represent the thing/concept, not the pronunciation. Examples include Chinese characters and Egyptian hieroglyphics, among others.

6.The Indian sub-continent is composed of these 2 language divisions.: The Indo-European Family and the Dravidian Language Family

7.Maps: Geographers use this to show the distribution and patterns of diffusion of a language.

8.Monolingual States: States with only 1 language spoken.

9.Multilingual states: States where more than 1 language is spoken

10.Nigeria: There are three major languages: Hausa (to the north), Yuruba (in the SW), Ibo (in the SE). There are more than a dozen local languages and around 230 local dialects. Upon independence Nigeria adopted English as the "official" language to avoid cultural conflicts. This however caused problems - Children's educations were spent learning this lingua franca instead of other subjects. English, however, was irrelevant to children outside of school - they spoke their native languages at home.

11.written language: Symbols represent the words and/or sounds we speak

Spoken language developed first

Written language is one of the results of the Neolithic ("new stone age") revolution - or the 1st Agricultural revolution - when civilizations developed. Methods of record keeping were needed.

Introduction to Religion

1.Animism: These religions believe that non-human entities contain spiritual powers.

Examples:

Natural Objects

Natural phenomena

Ancestors

most associated with groups living in pre-Industrial societies such as those in the Amazon Basin, Africa, and Indonesia

2.Cargo Cults: Found in Melanesian islands in the SE Pacific

belief that "cargo" will come bringing followers wealth and power.

Belief in god named John Fromm

They are based on the concept that material wealth "cargo" will appear on the shores of islands. It is believed that the concept originated as items from ship wrecks washed up upon shores of Melanesian islands. The early of this type of religion believed that their ancestors from beyond would return and meanwhile send them more "cargo." They grew in popularity after WWII as "cargo" washed up more frequently with the sinking of so many ships in the Pacific theater. The regular appearance of "cargo" during WWII reinforced the old beliefs that ancestors would continue to provide "cargo" to the followers. It is believed that the name John Fromm is came from American soldiers saying "I am John from..." while interacting with locals during WWII.

3.Diffusion of Language vs. Religion: The origin and diffusion of religions is much easier to trace than the origin and diffusion of languages. Languages are more difficult to trace to specific hearths and times because they are much older. Most of the world's religions developed well after languages were entrenched in areas. Religions texts and other writings also give clues to hearths, diffusion, and dates associated with them.

4.Ethnic Religion: People are born into this type of religion. These types of religions do not seek converts.

5.Extremist: a person who holds extreme or fanatical political or religious views, especially one who resorts to or advocates violence.

6.Fundamentalist: A person that strictly follows a religion

7.Monotheistic: believing in only one god

8.Polytheistic: Belief in many gods

9.Religion: the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power or powers

10.Secular: Not associated with religion

Separation of Church (religion) and State (leadership/laws of a country)

11.Shamanism: A religion in which there is a living person (a Shaman) acting as an intermediary between the human and spiritual world.

12.Syncretic Religions: The blending of two or more religions.

A new religion could result or new ideas could be adopted.

a religion that will be firmly rooted in an area. Another religion will diffuse into the area and the two religions will combine traits. The level at which traits are combined might produce a new, totally blended religion but will most often produce a religion that is close to the indigenous religion that existed previously with a few new observable characteristics.

Examples:

Cargo Cults (Christianity and animism)

Shintoism (Buddhism and animism)

Voodoo (African animism and Christianity)

13.Traditional/Indigenous Religion: The religion of the indigenous people of an area

14.Universalizing Religion: This type of religion seeks converts.

1.1.Where did Buddhism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1.Originated in South Asia and migrated to central, southeast, and East Asia. It virtually disappeared from it its hearth.

Relocation and Hierarchical (Emperor Asoka)

2. SE Asia, China, Japan

7-8% of world population (488-535 million)

2.1.Where did Christianity originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. Israel, Southwest Asia; Roman emperor converted then rest; European colonialism; expansion diffusion: contagious and hierarchical;

2.the Americas, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific, Australia, over 2 billion people

3.1.Where did Confucianism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. Hierarchical Diffusion; China

2. China: Approx .09%

6 million

4.1.Where did Hinduism originate and how did it diffuse? What type of diffusion?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. along the Indus River Valley

Spread by sea routes

Relocation and Expansion Diffusion

2.3rd after Islam, and Christianity

Vast majority in India, also in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal

15% of world population

5.1.Where did Islam originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. Birthplace Mecca spread outward from SW Asia through trade, conquering (Persian empire)

Contagious Diffusion

2.Shi'ite found in Iran

North Africa, SW Asia, former Soviet Union, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Philippines, East African coasts, US, Western Europe, India, Subsaharan Africa

It is the fastest growing religion

31% of the World Population (6.9 Billion

6.1.Where did Jainism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. South Asia. Founded in the Ganges basin of eastern India. Migrated to western and southern India. Relocation Diffusion

2.South Asia

Diaspora worldwide to Africa, Europe, North America

.06% of world Population (4.2 Million adherents)

7.1.Where did Judaism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. Israel

Relocation diffusion

(exception to ethnic religion rule)

Jewish Diaspora (Roman 70AD)

European Diaspora (Holocaust)

2.Middle East, North Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, North and South America

0.2% of world population (14.2 million)

8.1.Where did Shinto originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?:

1. Japan: Hierarchical (from emperor)

2.Japan: 0.06% of world Population (4 million)

9.1.Where did Sikhism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. Hearth: South Asia; Relocation Diffusion

2.Current distribution Punjab (mainly), also found in North America, Western Europe, Australia/Pacific Region

10.1.Where did Taoism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. China contagious and little of relocation diffusion

2. Current distribution: East Asia 12-173 million (less than 1%)

11.1.Where did Zoroastrianism originate and how did it diffuse?

2.Where is it present in today's world and how much of the world's population follows it?: 1. Hearth: Iran (Persia) If anything today it would only be relocation. In the past it was contagious.

2.Small communities found in Iran and India: 124,000-190,000 (.04% of world population)

12.Is Buddhism ethnic or universal?: universal

13.Is Buddhism polytheistic or monotheistic?: neither(no gods)

14.Is Christianity ethnic or universal?: universal

15.Is Christianity polytheistic or monotheistic?: monotheistic

16.Is Confucianism ethnic or universal?: ethnic

17.Is Confucianism polytheistic or monotheistic?: neither

18.Is Hinduism ethnic or universal?: ethnic

19.Is Hinduism polytheistic or monotheistic?: both

20.Is Islam ethnic or universal?: universal

21.Is Islam polytheistic or monotheistic?: monotheistic

22.Is Jainism ethnic or universal?: ethnic

23.Is Jainism polytheistic or monotheistic?: neither

24.Is Judaism ethnic or universal?: ethnic

25.Is Judaism polytheistic or monotheistic?: monotheistic

26.Is Shinto ethnic or universal?: ethnic

27.Is Shinto polytheistic or monotheistic?: polytheistic

28.Is Sikhism ethnic or universal?: universal

29.Is Sikhism polytheistic or monotheistic?: monotheistic

30.Is Taoism ethnic or universal?: ethnic

31.Is Taoism polytheistic or monotheistic?: polytheistic

32.Is Zoroastrianism ethnic or universal?: ethnic

33.Is Zoroastrianism polytheistic or monotheistic?: monotheistic

34.Which Christian denomination does Midland and Upper Midwest follow?: Catholic

35.Which Christian denomination does Midland (from New York to Colorado and Wyoming) US follow?: Mixed

36.Which Christian denomination does Northeast US (New England) follow?: Catholic

37.Which Christian denomination does Southern Florida follow follow?: Mixed

38.Which Christian denomination does Southern Louisiana follow?: French Catholic

39.Which Christian denomination does Southern US follow?: Baptist

40.Which Christian denomination does Southwestern follow?: Spanish Catholic

41.Which Christian denomination does the area around and including Utah follow?: Mormom

42.Which Christian denomination does the Upper Midwestern US follow?: Lutheran