LanguageWhy do people preserve local languages?

Preserving Language Diversity The distribution of language is a

measure of the fate of an ethnic group English diffused around the world

from a small island Icelandic remains a little-used

language due to isolation

Language displays two competing geo trends English has become principal

language of communication for the entire world

At same time, local languages that are endangered by English are being protected and preserved

Preserving Language Diversity Extinct languages

Languages no longer spoken or read in daily activities

Today estimated 473 almost extinct languages Only a few speakers left Not teaching to children

46 in Africa 182 in Americas 84 in Asia 9 in Europe 152 in Pacific

Examples: Spanish conquest of Peru Gothic language in Europe

Attempts to preserve

Language hotspots

Hebrew

Reviving Extinct Languages Hebrew is a rare case of an extinct

language that has been revived Most of Jewish Bible was written in

Hebrew Language of daily activity in biblical

times Hebrew diminished in 4th century

B.C.E. Only retained for religion Aramaic replaced by Arabic

Israel 1948 Hebrew became 1 of 2 official

languages Was symbolic of unity among

different groups of people

Reviving Hebrew Difficult job Had to created new words for

thousands of objects and inventions unknown in biblical times Phones, cars, electricity

Effort initiated by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda Credited with invention of 4,000

new Hebrew words Created the 1st modern Hebrew

dictionary

Celtic

Major language in the British Isles before invasions 2,000 years ago Celtic spoken in

much of present-day Germany, France, and northern Italy, as well as in the British Isles

Today Celtic on survives in: Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and France

Celtic branch is divided into: Goidelic (Gaelic)

Two languages survive: Irish and Scottish Gaelic

Brythonic Speakers fled during Germanic

Invasion to Wales, Cornwall, and France

Celtic Gaelic

Irish One of two official languages Spoken by 350,000 daily

Scottish 1% in Scotland speak it Large body of literature exists

Brythonic Welsh

Welsh language dominant until 19th century English migrated to work Estimated 22% speak Welsh

Cornish Extinct in 1777

Breton Isolated peninsula 250,000 speakers Has more French words

Survival of any language depends on the political and military strength of its speakers Celtic declined because the Celts lost most of

the territory they once controlled In 1300s Irish forbidden by English masters

19th century- “tally sticks” Encouraged for jobs in 19th and 20th cent.

Recent efforts to preserve Wales

Welsh Language Society 1988 Education Act

Made it compulsory in school Government services, utilities, TV

Irish Irish language TV station in 1996 Revival led by young Irish

Cornish Revived in 1920s Taught in schools

Dispute over revival

Multilingual States

Conflict Belgium

Has difficulty reconciling the interests of the different language speakers

Southern Belgium Known as Walloons Speak French

Northern Belgium Known as Flemings Speak a dialect of the

Germanic language- Dutch Called Flemish

ConflictPlace Languages Conflict

Canada English and French

French speakers, concentrated in Quebec, have fought for increased recognition and power against the English-speaking Canadian majority, Some have called for secession from Canada.

Belgium Dutch and French

The Dutch-speaking north and French-speaking south compete for power and control. The nation’s capital city, Brussels, is located in the Dutch-speaking south, but most inhabitants are French speakers.

Cyprus Greek and Turkish

The Greek majority and Turkish minority compete for control of this island-country. Cyprus is divided by a “Green-line” partition separating the two cultures.

Nigeria Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and nearly 230 others

Hausa speakers in the north, Yoruba in the southwest, and Ibo in the southeast paint a divided Nigeria in which some 230 other languages complicate Nigeria’s unification. English was declared the official language as an attempt to create a toll of common communication.

Monolingual States Definition:

Because of the increasing pace of spatial-cultural interaction globally, few purely monolingual countries exist Japan

Relatively monolingual due to its stringent immigration laws

France Fought to preserve

monolingual heritage Laws to keep language

“pure” Prohibit infusion of English

Isolated Languages

Definition A language unrelated to any

other and therefore not attached to any language family

Arise through lack of interaction with speakers of other languages

Basque Best example in Europe

Only language that survives from before arrival of Indo-European speakers

Unable to link to any other language

1st language in Pyrenees Isolation preserved language

Global Dominance of English One of the most fundamental needs in a

global society is a common language for communication

Language of international communication today is English

Lingua Franca Language of international

communication To facilitate trade speakers would

create a lingua franca by mixing elements of two languages into a common simple language

Terms means : language of the franks Other Lingua Francas

Swahili in East Africa Hindi in South Asia Indonesian in Southeast Asia Russian in former Soviet Union

Pidgin language A simplified form of a lingua franca

Limited vocab and simplified grammar

Mix some elements of own language

No native speakers Adopted through force usually

French- Caribbean

Rapid growth of English Reflected in high % of students learning

English as a second language 90% in European Union

Japanese have considered making English its 2nd national language

Global Dominance of English

Expansion Diffusion of English In past a lingua franca achieved

distribution through migration and conquest Example: Latin

Today English has spread through Expansion diffusion Two ways

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

English words are fusing with other languages

Ebonics Distinctive African American

dialect Influenced by forced migration

from Africa and slavery Communication in code Words: gumbo, jazz

In 20th century mass migration out of south led to preservation of dialect

Classified as a distinct dialect Distinct grammar and vocab

Use of double negatives “I ain’t going there no

more” Controversial today

Global Dominance of English Diffusion of English to Other Languages

English words have been increasingly integrated into other languages

Franglais Language a source of national pride and

identity in France French are upset with domination of

English French is official language in 29

countries and was a lingua franca French upset that English is destroying

“purity” of language Cowboy, jeans, hamburger French Academy tried to reinforce

French Struck down in 1994 in court

Even more extreme in Quebec Surround by English

Spanglish English diffusing into Spanish

language thanks to 34 million Hispanics in U.S. Called Cubonics in Miami

Spanglish involves converting English words into Spanish forms Shorts becomes chores

New words have been invented in Spanglish that do not exist in English

Become widespread in popular culture

Denglish Diffusion of English words into

German