Language

Language

• The ability to communicate with others orally and/or in writing.

• Is used to both unify and divide nations• Language can be used to control people and

stifle native language/culture.

Language is power

• Only 30% of students in the United States learn an additional language other than English.

• Almost 90% of students in Europe learn an additional language.

• In a global world knowing an additional language is beneficial.

• There are over 6,000 languages in the world. • Most are indigenous languages spoken by less

than 100,000 people.

Monolingual Country

• Has only one official language in which all government business is conducted.

• Ex: Japan

Multilingual Country

• Has more than one official language. • Switzerland has four official languagesGerman, French, ItalianRomansh.

Lingua Franca

• A language used as a common tongue among people who speak diverse languages, often to conduct business.

• English is the most widespread lingua franca in the world.

Lingua Franca Cont.

• Airline pilots in the world must be able to communicate with each other all over the world.

• If an Angolan pilot is flying into a Bangladesh airport the pilot communicates in English to the tower staff.

• Most international business to done in English

Lingua Franca

• Is reflective of the wealth majority.• As China obtains an increase control on global

commerce is may become increasingly more important to learn……

• Many parts of Southeast Asia already are using ____ as the lingua franca.

• In Eastern Africa the lingua franca is Swahili

Importance of bilingualism

• Competitive edge. • With the increase in immigration from Mexico

and the increase in global positioning from China, Spanish and Mandarin are the two most common languages taught in U.S schools.

• Learning just one additional language gives you adaptive strategy. – Improved communication process when entering

another language region.

Linguistic Divisions

• Several countries are divided by languages.

Dialects

• A form of a language that is unique in sound, speed, syntax, and vocabulary.

• Accents: Midwest, Southern, Cajun, age.• Isogloss: dialect boundary. • Can be difficult among different age groups

within a region.

Isogloss

• A group of people:– You guys– You’uns– Y’all

Differences among English speakers

• “BBC British” British Broadcast Company• Type of English spoken by radio and T.V

announcers.• This style of English is used with people in

Europe, Africa and Asia who study English.

Color v. Colour

• The major differences that emerged between British English and American English was first due to America’s isolation from Britain.

• Lack of technology, communication and travel.• Major differences: Vocabulary, spelling and

pronunciation. • New discoveries, new inventions, new names

What the what?!?

• Loo Chemist’s shop• Lift chips• Queue Dummy• Pitch holiday • Boot Nappy• Flat Rubbish • Mum telly • Head master• Jumper Tube • Mackintosh

Evolution of Language

• All words have been added to Webster’s dictionary in the last 5 years:– Bollywood, DVR, smackdown, speed dating,

telenovela, bucket list, f-bomb, sexting, gassed, underwater, mancave, reggaeton, staycation, waterboarding, earmark, bromance, tweet,

Other Languages:

• Pidgin• Trade• Creole

Pidgin Language

• When languages mix. • Simplified • Rudimentary grammar and vocabulary. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7X9AAe

DCr4

Trade Language

• A made up language by people who want to trade. • Introduced by the Europeans and Natives of North

America. • A modified language of middle ground. • Cajun is a mix of English and French, not

exclusively one or the other. • “Spanglish”, “Denglish”, “Franglais” • Ebonics • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z13CVD0idrM

Creole Language

• Stable language resulting from the blend of two or more languages that doesn’t include features of either.

• Haitian-Creole: Native Haitian tribal language combined with French Colonial language

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYD8GPOqppo

Official Languages

• An official language is the language that is adopted by a government to which official business is conducted.

• English is most widespread language in U.S but is not official adopted as such.

• Some U.S States have adopted English as their official language.

English: Official Language

• Alabama (1990)Alaska (1998)Arizona (2006)Arkansas (1987)California (1986) Colorado (1988)Florida (1988)Georgia (1986 & 1996) Hawaii (1978) Idaho (2007) Illinois (1969) Indiana (1984) Iowa (2002) Kansas (2007)Kentucky (1984)Louisiana (1811) Massachusetts (1975)Mississippi (1987) Missouri (1998)Montana (1995) Nebraska (1920) New Hampshire (1995) North Carolina (1987)North Dakota (1987)South Carolina (1987) South Dakota (1995) Tennessee (1984) Utah (2000) Virginia (1981 & 1996) Wyoming (1996)

Diversity and Extinction

• Language diversity vs. Language uniformity:• Diversity: more opportunities, cultural

success, economic success. • Uniformity: unified identity, easy

communication

Diversity and Extinction

• 6,000 languages are thought to decrease to 600 in next century.

• Globalization and technology, although uniting, are threatening language diversity.

• People are migrating from rural areas to urban ones where they may have spoken an indigenous language and trade it for the lingua franca of the country.

Megalanguages

• Mandarin• English• Spanish• Hindi

Organizing Languages

• Language Families: organized by their common heritage

• Language Subfamilies: smaller groups within each family

• Language Groups: languages descended from a common tongue.

Language Families

• Indo-European: English, spoken by 48% of world.• Sino-Tibetan: Mandarin, 26% of world• Afro-Asiatic: Arabic, 6% of world• Austronesian: Javanese, 5% of world (Java)• Dravidian: Telugu, 4% of world (India)• Altaic: Turkish, 3% of world• Niger-Congo: Yoruba, 3% of world (Nigeria) • Japanese: Japan, 2% of the world.