Culture V – Language Domination, Preservation, and

Extinction

Language and Ethnicity

• The distribution of language is a direct measure of the fate of an ethnic group– If an ethnic group dies out, usually the

language goes with them– Ethnic groups that can diffuse their

language can ensure the survival of their culture

Language Domination

• The development of alphabets and literary traditions were used to dominate and conquer cultures

• Invention of agricultural societies, alphabets, and record keeping allowed cultures to spread and dominate illiterate cultures

European Imperialism

• European colonial powers colonized Africa and the Americas

• Language was imposed on native populations– Europeans had alphabets– NA’s passed on language through verbal

transmission• One step in the process of cultural

extinction• After decolonization, language remained• Treaty of Tordesillas - 1494

Language Extinction

• No longer spoken by any living person

• Thousands are extinct• Process has accelerated during past

300 years– Imperialism– Globalization– Economic and social acculturation

Language Conflicts• Nigeria

– 493 languages– 3 in widespread use

• Hausa• Yoruba• Igbo

– Ethnic conflict– Political conflict

• Moved capital from Lagos (Yoruba) to Abuja (center of Nigeria)

Reviving Endangered Languages

• Basque• Welsh• Irish Gaelic• Cornish – extinct in

1777• Hebrew – post

WWII

Multilingual States

• Most states contain multiple languages– Divided by

isoglosses• Some states

identify multiple official languages– Canada– Belgium– Israel– Switzerland

• African preservation of languages

Isolated Languages

• Not associated with any other language family– Lack of interaction

• Basque – pre-Indo-European

Lingua Franca

• Common communication for business• Originated with Arab traders in

Europe– English– Russian– Swahili– Indonesian

• Pidgin Language

Global Dominance of English

• ESL– EU – 90%– World – 500 million– Japan – considering added English as a

second official language• Airlines

Diffusion of English• Historically – relocation diffusion through

trade and conquest• Today – expansion diffusion• Expansion diffusion of English

– English is changing through diffusion of new vocab, spelling, and pronunciation

– English words are fusing w/other languages• Usually, diffusion occurs from the elite to

the masses, but today changes in English originate from common usage or ethnic dialects– African Americans – Ebonics – “she be at

home”– Appalachia – “I’m fishing in the crick”, “a-

sitting”

Diffusion of Other Languages

• Franglais• Spanglish

– Chores (shorts), bacuncliner (vacuum cleaner)

– Parquin (instead of estacionameiento)• Denglish

– Cityverbindungen (local call)

Language Manifestations in Landscape

• Cultures name features with a toponym

• In the USA, names reveal the dominate culture of the first inhabitants or the Europeans that conquered them

• Two parts to a toponym– Generic – classifies what is being

described– Specific – modifies the classification

2007 FRQ

• At the same time that English is solidifying its role as the world’s premier lingua franca, lesser-used minority languages (such as Welsh, Basque, and Inuktitut) are undergoing revival.– Discuss three distinct factors promoting

the revival of minority languages in the face of globalization.