Chapter 5: Language 

Learning Objectives- After studying this chapter you should be able to:
Where are language distributed?
5.1.1: Differentiate between language families, branches, and groups.
5.1.2: Categorize major languages using the language tree.
5.2.1: Locate the largest language families and explain their geographic distribution.
5.2.2: Identify the two language families with the most speakers worldwide.

How is English related to other languages?
5.3.1: Identify the eight branches of the Indo-European language family.
5.3.2: Describe the geographic distribution of the four largest branches of the Indo-European language family.
5.4.1: Describe the origin and diffusion of English.
5.4.2: Compare and contrast the Nomadic Warrior Theory and Sedentary Farmer Theory of the origin and diffusion of Indo-European languages.

How do languages vary among places?
5.5.1: Identify and define dialect and isogloss.
5.5.2: Illustrate the differences between British and American English. Cite examples.
5.5.3: Explain why we have regional difference in the English dialects in the United States and the United Kingdom.
5.6.1: Explain citing examples from the Romance branch how a dialect can become a language.
5.6.2: Explain the term official language and hypothesize as to why a country might adopt an official or standardized dialect.
5.7.1: Discuss the concept of a multilingual state and provide examples from the chapter. 
5.7.2: Compare and contrast how various multi- lingual states deal with the problems created by multiple languages. 
5.7.3: Describe how language diversity may produce challenges for a country, citing examples. 

Why do languages survive?
5.8.1: Explain the concept of an isolated language and provide examples. 
5.9.1: Explain how and why languages are revived. 
5.9.2: Identify ways of preserving endangered languages citing examples.
5.10.1: Define lingua franca and pidgin language.
5.10.2: Illustrate how English as a lingua franca influenced changes in other languages.
5.10.3: Identify reasons for the global distribution of English.
5.10.4: Determine whether English should become the official language of the United States.

Terms- You should understand these terms and be ready to identify them:
Creole A language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated.
Denglish A combination of Deutsch (the German word for language) and English.
Dialect A regional variety of a language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation. 
Extinct language A language that was once used by people in daily activities but is no longer used.
Franglais A term used by the French for English words that have entered the French language, a combination of francais and anglais, the French words for "French" and "English," respectively.
Isogloss A boundary that separates regions in which different language usages predominate.
Isolated language A language that is unrelated to any other languages and therefore not attached to any language family.
Language A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.
Language branch A collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousand years ago. Differences are not as extensive or as old as with language families, and archaeological evidence can confirm that the branches derived from the same family.
Language family A collection of languages related to each other through a common ancestor long before recorded history.
Language group A collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary.
Lingua franca A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages.
Literary tradition A language that is written as well as spoken. 
Logogram A symbol that represents a word rather than a sound.
Official   language The language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents.
Pidgin A language that mixes a simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of a lingua franca with another language.
Spanglish Combination of Spanish and English, spoken by Hispanic-Americans.
Standard language The form of a language used for education, mass communications, and formal situations.
Vernacular The informal form of a language commonly spoken by people in daily life.