Language

AIM: where are English-Language speakers distributed?

• Do Now: What is language? Be very specific with your definition

• SWBAT – List the regions of the

world where English is the official or predominant language

– Explain why English is the most common official language

– Define and identify dialects in the US

Key Terms

• Language: system of communication through speech; a collection of sounds that group of people understands to have the same meaning

• Literary tradition: system of written communication

English Facts

• 1st language of 328 million • Spoken fluently by ½-1 billion more people• Official language in 57 countries• 1/3 of the world lives in a country with English

as the Official Language

Q: Is English America’s official language?Q: Why do so many countries have English as an official language if not everyone in that country speaks it?

Places England has NOT Invaded

England’s Empire

AIM: How did English Originate?

• Do Now (12/3/15) Read the article and answer the following question

• How do dialects originate?

• SWBAT– Understand how English

formed as a language– Describe how English

has evolved over time– Identify key differences

between British and American English

– Explain how dialects originate

How did English originate in England?

• England is a Germanic Language • Invading tribes from Denmark and Germany

invaded the British Isles and pushed the Celtic speaking tribes into northern/western parts of Britain – Angles, Saxons, the Jutes

Why is English different from German?

• Subsequent invasions from different groups enriched/changed the language– Norse Invasion (Vikings)– Norman Invasion in 1066 (Normandy, France):

French becomes the official language of England for 300 years

AIM: Why is English related to Other Languages?

• Do Now: Guess the meaning of the following British phrases– Lost the plot– I haven’t seen that in donkey’s years– He’s such a chav– You’ve thrown a spanner in the works– That’s manky– This is an absolute doodle to do

Differences between American and British English

• Vocabulary– New animals, inventions, etc

• Spelling– Need for an independent identity– Webster

• Pronunciation – Isolation of America

Key Terms

• Dialect: regional variation of a language distinguished by distinctive vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation

• Isogloss: a boundary that separates regions in which different language usages predominate

• Standard language: dialect of language used for official government business, education, and mass communications

American Dialects Activity

• Take the American Dialect Quiz• Online: • http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/

2013/12/20/sunday-review/dialect-quiz-map.html?_r=1&

U.S. Dialects

• 2 important isoglosses separate the East Coast into the Northern, Midlands, and Southern regions

• The Northern and Southern dialects sound unusual to the majority of Americans– Most Westward Expansion settlers came from the

Mid-Atlantic States

Key Terms

• Language Family: collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed before recorded time

• Language Branch: collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago

What family is English part of?

• English is part of the Indo-European family• Broken down into 8 branches – Indo-Iranian, Romance, Germanic, and Balto-Slavic

are spoken the most– Albanian, Armenian, Greek, and Celtic are the less

spoken branches

Activity: Mapping the Germanic Branch

• Read the Germanic-Branch of Indo-European section

• Map out the Germanic Branch• You may want to write in pencil!

AIM: What are the main branches of the Indo-European language?

• Do Now: What is the difference between a language family, language branch, and language group. Give an example of each

• SWBAT – Identify the main branches of the Indo-European

family– Review their vocabulary term for tomorrow– Understand the linguistic diversity of India

Indo-Iranian Branch

• Divided into 2 sections: Indic (Eastern) and Iranian (Western)

Indic (Eastern Group) of Indo-Iranian Language Branch

• Widely-used languages in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh

• India=language diversity– Over 400 languages spoken! – Official language: Hindi and English – 22 “scheduled” languages

India (continued)

• Hindi– One official way to write, hundreds of ways to

speak• Urdu– Spoken like Hindi, but with an Arabic alphabet

Iranian Group of Indo-Iranian

• Iran/neighboring countries in SW Asia (Middle East)

• Major languages:– Persian/Farsi: Iran– Pashto: eastern Afghanistan /Western Pakistan – Kurdish: spoken by the Kurds ethnic group in

western Iran, northern Iraq, and Eastern Turkey

Balto-Slavic Branch

• 4 divisions: East Slavic, West Slavic, South Slavic, and a Baltic group

• Major Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Czech and Slovak

Romance Branch

See other powerpoint

Origin: Proto-Indo-European

• Thought to be the original language• Controversy over where it started • 2 theories: nomadic warrior thesis and

sedentary farmer thesis

Nomadic Warrior Thesis

• Marija Gimbutas• First speakers: Kurgan people • Origin: between Russia and Kazakhstan• Nomadic herders• Domesticated horses and used them to take

over much of Europe/Asia

Sedentary Farmer Thesis

• Colin Renfrew• Eastern Anatolia (Turkey)• Diffused with agriculture practices• Number of people who spoke the language

grew as the country moved to stage 2 of the DTM