AP Human Geography Mrs. Bellisari

Chapter 5 Key Issue #2: Why is English related to other languages?

Languages of Europe Indo-European language dominatesLanguage map & political boundaries usually overlapSW Europe is : Romance (Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian)NW Europe is :Germanic (Flemish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, English, Frisian German, Dutch, Faeroese)E. Europe is : Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Polish, Czech, SlovakEstonia, Hungary and Finland – Uralic language family

Romance Branch - Evolved from

Latin 2,000 years ago

- Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French, and Romanian

- Physical boundaries (Pyrenees and Alps) were barriers to

communication- Languages in these areas are a major element in a people’s cultural identity- Small difference are being preserved

Germanic Branch

Languages of India- 4 language family

- Indo-European most speakers (Indo-Iranian branch)- Dravidian 2nd

- Austro-asiatic and Sino-Tibetan15 major languages: all but four are Indo-European (Bengali and Hindi most common)Dravidian languages are clustered in SE (Tamil/Telugu)Political divisions reflect regional languages

India’s Diversity in Language – 22 official languagesIndo-European – NorthDravidian – SouthSino-Tibetan – N. EastAustro-Asiatic – Central /E. highlands)

Indo- Iranian Branch- More than100 languages- Spoken by 1 billion people- 1/3 of India (Indic Group – the worlds second largest group) use Hindi written in the

form “Devanagari”- Urdu is the Pakistani version of Hindi but written with the Arabic alphabet- Both derive from Hindustani and the New Delhi version (Hindi) was encouraged by

the British

- Persian (Farsi) Pashto, and Kurdish are in the (Iranian Group) Origin and Diffusion of Language Families History of the English Language

- Celts tribe arrived in 2000 B.C. (Celtic)

- Around 450 European tribes moved in, pushing the Celts to Northern and Western Britain

- Tribes were Jutes (N. Denmark) Angles (S. Denmark) and Saxons (N.W. Germany)

- Today, English refer to themselves as Anglo-Saxon

- England comes from Angles’ land - came from an angle or corner of Germany known as Schleswig-Holstein

- Vikings from present day Norway landed on the NE coast in the 800’s

- Normans invaded in 1066 spoke French, which was the official language for 300 years

- In 1362, Parliament enacted the Statute of Pleading which changed the official court language to English

- French leadership and Germanic lay languages merged into a new language

- Sky, horse, man, woman are Germanic words and Celestial, equestrian, feminine are French

Origin and Diffusion of EnglishDistribution of English follows where the English colonized

- Jamestown 1607 and Plymouth 1620- Defeat of France in the Seven Years War assured the dominance of English over

the North American continent (1757)- Ireland in the 17th century, South Asia in the mid 18th century, and Southern

Africa in the late 19th century.

- The United States in turn brought English to the Philippines after their victory in the Spanish American War ensured that colonial possession

Origin and Diffusion of Romance LanguagesThe Roman empire grew extensively over a period over several hundred yearsThe Latin that was learned was Vulgar Latin which means “to the masses”Introduced to the provinces by soldiers stationed in those areasVulgar term for horse is caballus: in modern times it is used in Italian (cavallor), Spanish (caballo), French (cheval), and Romanian (cal).

Proto-Indo-European (PIE) Language Hearth and DiffusionProto-Indo-European (PIE) languageIndo-European language is the world's most commonProto-Indo-European (common ancestor of Indo-European)

Linguists and anthropologists agree P.I.E. existed but have different theories on how it originated.

Diffusion of P.I.E languagea. Conquest theory (Nomadic Warrior or Kurgan Theory)- Originated N of Black Sea (steppes of Ukraine/Russia – present day Kazakhstan)- Language diffused west through conquest!- Superior technology (wheel)- Domesticated horses

b. Agriculture Theory (Sedentary Farmer Theory)- Diffusion by SHARING agricultural techniques/spread of farming- Origin: Anatolia in Turkey (hilly words)- Supporting evidence:

o Few words for plains but many for relief landformso Few words for trees/animals that live on the plainso Leading hearth of agricultural innovation nearby (Mesopotamia)o Some genetic evidence