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Language & Religion
Two most important forces that bond and define human cultures
Each originated in a distinct hearth
Two most important of all types of cultural regions
Defining LanguageLanguage - Pronunciation and combination of words used to communicate within a group of people
Important cultural index – each language has a unique way of dealing with facts, ideas, and concepts.
Structures individual perception of world
Language RegionsDialects
Minor variations within a language
Standard languageFollowing formal rule of diction and grammar
Official languageParticular language for any given country
Lingua franca - Current language of international discourse (English)
Linguistic GeographyThe study of different dialects across space
Speech community – sounds are localized only among a group of people who speak together
Isoglosses – boundary lines around places where speakers use linguistic features in the same way
Parallel physical landscape features
Geographical dialect continuum – chain of dialects or languages spoken across an area
World’s Major Languages7,299 distinct languages (ethnologue)
50% of world population speak one of 12 major languages listed
Mandarin Chinese is largest with 885 million
English is the primary language of 350 million and is the official language of about 50 countries
Language DevelopmentProtolanguage
Common ancestor to any group of today’s languages
Language familyLanguages related by descent from a common protolanguage
Cognate – a word that clearly looks like or sounds like another word which it is related to
Etymology- the study of word origins and history
Indo-European Language Family
Identified by Sir William Jones, 1786Proto-Indo-European
• Common ancestor of many modern languages
Grimm’s Law – rules to describe regular shifts in sounds that occurred when various Indo-European languages diverged
Set forth by Jacob Grimm of the Brothers Grimm
Geography of WritingOrthography - system of writingIndependent inventions of writing
• Sumerians – Mesopotamia before (3000 B.C.)• Olmec – Central America (650 B.C.)
Alphabets – system of letters which represent soundsRoman – modern western European languages KazakhstanCyrillic – Greek alphabet augmented by “Saint Cyril”Arabic – language of the Koran (uniting force)
Non-alphabetic – each character represents a word or concept
Chinese, Japanese, Korean
Toponymy- The study of place names
Consists of:Natural features (Oak Bay)
Origins/values of inhabitants (British Colombia)
Belief structures, religions (Islamabad – place of Islam)
Current or past heroes (St. Petersburg)
Linguistic DifferentiationNational languages
Iceland and Japan – exclusive to the country
Nation buildingPhilological nationalism – mother tongues have given rise to nationalism
Postcolonial societiesImposed official languages by colonial rulerNot spoken by locals
Multiple Language States
Polyglot statesHaving multiple official languages
United StatesEnglish always lingua francaThree major dialects in 13 coloniesNon-English languages – creole, french, spanish
Language Vocab.British Received Pronunciation (BRP) – standard form of British speech used by upper class BritonsCreole – 159 – mix of colonizers language and indigenous language of people being colonizedEbonics – African American dialect heavily influenced by Western African languagesExtinct language 168 – once in use, even in the recent pastFranglais – combination of French and EnglishIdeograms – written character that usually represents a concept rather than a pronunciationIsolated language – a language that is not related to any other
Language Vocab. Cont…Language Branch – a collection of language related to a common ancestral language that existed several thousands of years agoLanguage group – a collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin, i.e. West GermanicLiterary Tradition 146Pidgin Language – includes grammar rules of lingua franca and some elements of a native languageSpanglish – combination of Spanish and English (Cubonics) bacunclinerVulgar Latin – non standard literary Latin spread by Roman Soldiers
World’s Major ReligionsSystems of beliefs guiding behavior
Orthopraxy• Ethic and pscyhological based belief systems• (Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism)
Orthodoxy• Philosophical and theological based belief system
Fundamentalism – strict adherence to traditional beliefs
Secularism – lifestyle or policy that purposely ignores or excludes religious considerations
Judaism14 million adherentsMonotheisticPentateuch
First five books of the Old Testament
SectsOrthodox - fundamentalist Conservative, Reform
IsraelHomeland for Jewish people Created 1948Conflict between Israel and Palestine
ChristianityEmerged from JudaismCoptic Church
Founded in Alexandria in A.D. 41Official religion of Roman Empire
Facilitated geographical spreadDark Ages – church was the focal point for medieval peopleProtestant Reformation – Martin LutherSignificant growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America
IslamMuhammad (570 -632)Allah –one god
Cognate of “eloh”
Five Pillars of IslamBelief in one GodFive daily prayersCharity – generous alumsFasting during RamadanPilgrimage to Mecca (hajj)
SectsSunni – leader is chosen (85%)Shiite – leader is descendant of Muhammad (15%)
Hinduism & SikhismHinduism - Most ancient religious tradition in Asia
Vedas – Hindu sacred textsReincarnation, KarmaCastes
• Brahman, priestly• Kshatriya, warrior• Vaisya, tradesman and farmer• Sudra, servant and laborer
Untouchables
Sikhism Offshoot of HinduismGuru Nanak – combined teaching of Hinduism and Islam
BuddhismBuddha – Enlightened One (Siddhartha- Hindu prince)Four Noble Truths
Life involves sufferingCause of suffering is desireElimination of desire ends sufferingRight thinking and behavior eliminate desire
8 Fold Path can = NirvanaDiffused from India – East/SE Asia, Tibet, & Nepal
Other ReligionsEastern Religions
Confucianism – based on The Analects (governed China’s political and moral culture for 2,000 years)Taoism – 3rd Century, Tao-te Ching (Live in harmony w/ nature)Shinto – native to Japan, recognized emperor as divine
Animism and ShamanismAnimism
• Belief in ubiquity of spirits or spiritual forces, hierachies of divinities
Shamanism• Shaman – is a medium who goes into hupnotic trances – communes
with the sprit world
Religion & PoliticsFreedom of religion – most countries guarantee this and observe a form of secularism (political boundaries stabalize religious affiliations) (see map pg 305)Theocracy
Church rules directly (Iran)
Separation of church and stateIslamic is inherently politicalUnited States – several states established as theocracies
• Treaty between US and Tripoli 1797 “U.S. gov is not based on Christian religion”
Terrorism – Fundamentalism (failure of education (pg 303), bombing Abortion clinics
Social Impact of ReligionGender roles
Women’s rights
DietVegetariansPork, beef cultural taboos, cows, pigs wars and witchesAlcohol
Ethics and moralsSchools and institutions
Economic Impact
Burial practices
Protestantism and capitalism
Catholic Church and capitalism
Confucianism verses individualism
Religion and Environment
Burial practices
Origin of the world
Relationship with natureExploitive approach
Adaptive approach
Religion Vocab. Cont…Animism – Believe that inanimate objects have spirits
Autonomous Religion – self sufficient and interaction among communities is confined to little more than loose cooperation
Branch – a large and fundamental division within a religion
Caste – The class or distinct hereditary order into which a Hindu is assigned according to religious law
Cosmogony – Set of beliefs concerning the origin of the universe
Denomination – is a division of a branch that unites a number of local congregations in a single legal and administrative body
Ethnic Religion – Relatively concentrated spatial distribution whose characteristics of the physical characteristics of the particular location
Religion Vocab. Cont…Fundamentalism - strict adherence to basic principles of a religion
Ghetto – city neighborhood where Jews were forced to live
Hierarchical Religion – well defined geographic structure that organizes territory into local administrative units
Missionary – individuals who help to transmit a universalizing religion
Pagan – follower of a polytheistic religion “countryside”
Sect – small group that has broken away from a denomination
Universalizing Religion – attempt to be global and appeal to all people wherever they live
Liberation Theology – the idea that the Catholic church should work to liberate oppressed people through political activistm