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Language 10/28/20
§Grab the handout on the back table
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• Language family: group of languages with a shared but fairly
distant origin (e.g., Indo-European, Saharan, Sudanic, etc.)
• Sub-families: divisions within a language family where the
commonalities are more definite and the origin more recent.
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European: Sub-families
•Romance Languages (French, Spanish, Italian)•Germanic Languages
(English, German, Danish,
Norwegian)• Slavic Languages (Russian, Polish, Czech)
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§Sound shift is a slight change in a word across languages
within a subfamily or through a language family from the present
backward toward its origin
§Ex.: Italian, Spanish and French as members of the Romance
language subfamily
§Example: Milk =lacte in Latin§ latta in Italian§ leche in
Spanish§ lait in French
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Language Formation (continued)
• Backward Reconstruction: tracking sounds shifts and the
hardening of consonants “backward” toward the original language•
Extinct Language: a language without any native speakers
(E.g., Latin)• Deep Reconstruction: recreation of the language
before an
extinct language
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VIDEO EXAMPLE of dying languages
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7kLNwKEVU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB7kLNwKEVU
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Language Diffusion
• Convergence: people migrating and combining and spreading the
language• Divergence: Language break (ex. Spain and Portugal) •
Language Replacement: one language takes control of another or
wipe a language away (Ex. Colonization in the Caribbean)•
Conquest Theory: Invaders bring their language (Ex. Roman
Empire, British Empire)
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How Do Languages Diffuse?
• Lingua franca: is a language used among speakers of different
languages for the purpose of trade and commerce.
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How Do Languages Diffuse? (Cont.)
• Pidgin Language: when parts of two or more languages are
combined in a simplified structure and vocabulary.
• Example: • Creole = French + Spanish• Swahili = Bantu +
Arabic
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VIDEO EXAMPLE of PIGIN languages
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7X9AAeDCr4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7X9AAeDCr4
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Continued
•Monolingual – counties where almost everyone speaks the same
language• Examples: Japan, Uruguay, Iceland
•Multilingual states – countries in which more than once
language is use• Examples: Canada (French & English – based on
region)
