CHAPTER INTRODUCTION
Language is an expression of culture, serving to both unite and divide people. The question of which language to use in a multilingual country is an important one since intercultural Communication is essential for political stability. Sometimes an existing language will spread worldwide to serve as a means of communications between people, but in regions where several languages, and their cultures, meet and merge a whole new language may develop. The study of place names, both historical and contemporary, can also reveal much about a culture and its people. In the world of the late 1990s, when the cultural composition of many countries is changing, questions about language are of particular significance.
Choosing A Language
The United States has no official language—The language selected in multilingual countries, often by the educated and politically powerful elite, to promote internal cohesion; usually the language of the courts and government—even though we are a nation of emigrants and enormous ethnic mix. The reason for this is simply that if there were an “official” language selected for this country—no matter which language it might be— it would carry with it the implied preference for the particular culture of which it was the native tongue. It would also imply, rightly or wrongly, that other languages/cultures were not as important.
Historically, languages spread primarily by three means; commerce, religion, and conquest, within the parameters of expansion and/or relocation diffusion. The
Indo-European languages spread globally in this manner and one in particular, English, diffused throughout the world during the era of colonialism. Largely because of the political and economic power of Britain and the United States , English today has become the global language of elites, commerce, and business.
Command of English undoubtedly is an advantage throughout the world and the position of some governments is that the advantages of being able to use English Outweigh cultural considerations. Some countries have made English (or another foreign language) their official language, giving indigenous languages secondary status. This provokes charges of neocolonialism or favoring the interest of educated elites. The emotional attachment to language is not just a matter of protecting threatened tongues. It is also a practical issue.
Multilingualism
There is no truly monolingual—where only one language is spoken—country in the world today. Several, such as Japan , Uruguay , Iceland , and Poland , claim monolingualism but even in these countries there are small numbers of people who speak other languages. For example, more than a half-million Koreans live in Japan , and English-speaking Australia has more than 180,000 speakers of aboriginal languages.
Countries in which more than one language is in use are called multilingual states. In some of these countries linguistic fragmentation reflect strong cultural pluralism as well as divisive forces (see Figure 10-5). This is true in former colonial areas where peoples speaking different languages were thrown together, as happened in Africa and Asia . This also occurred in the Americas as Figure 10-2 shows. Multiltngualism takes several forms and can be reflected in regional divisions ( Canada , India , Peru , and Belgium ), but in some countries (far fewer) there is less regional separation of speakers of different languages (for example South Africa ). Multilingual countries sometimes solve the problem of intercultural communication by making a foreign tongue their official (“umbrella”) language, as shown in Table 10-1. For former colonies, this has often been the language of the colonists, even though they may have gained their independence in a violent revolution against those colonists. Such a policy is not without risks, however, and the long-term results of the use of a foreign language may not always be positive.
Lingua Franca
Traders have often succeeded in overcoming regional linguistic communication problems where language planners failed. Centuries ago people speaking different languages were forced to find ways to communicate for trade. This need resulted in the emergence of a lingua franca—any common language spoken by peoples with different native tongues, the result of linguistic convergence. The term comes from the Mediterranean region and its numerous trading posts during the period following the Crusades. In several areas of the world today, linguistic convergence has produced languages of mixed origin. Some of these have developed into major regional languages (see Figure 10-1).
Toponymy
The study of place names (toponymy) can reveal a great deal about the contents and historical geography of a cultural region. Even when time has erased other evidence, place names can reveal much about a cultural area. Welsh place names in Pennsylvania , French place names in Louisiana , or Dutch place names in Michigan reveal national origin as well as insight into language and dialect, routes of diffusion, and ways of life.
Toponyms—place names—make reading a map a fruitful and sometimes revealing experience. A careful eye will spot Roman names on the map of Britain , German names on the map of France , and Dutch names in Australia .
CHAPTERS OUIZ
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. All languages have at least one thing in common, they:
a. change over time
b. remain static
c. do not borrow from other languages
d. do not use symbols
2. Spatially the ? language family is the most widely dispersed.
a. Afro-Asiatic
b. Ural-Altaic
c. Indo-European
d. Khoisan
3. The use of sound shifts helps trace languages back toward their origins. This technique is called:
a. backward reconstruction
b. root tracing
c. deep reconstruction
d. language foundation tracing
4. In tracing languages backward many factors must be taken into consideration, such as:
a. language convergence
b. the replacement of language by invading forces
c. linguistic islands
d. all of the above
5. In which of the following world regions did the last diffusion of the older languages take place.
a. the Indian Ocean
b. the Pacific and Americas
c. the South Atlantic
d. Central Asia
6. The world’s linguistic mosaic has been influenced by three critical components. Which of the following is not one of these.
a. transportation
b. writing
c. technology
d. political organization
7. Which of the following languages has become the one most often used as the primary medium of international communication in business.
a. French
b. English
c. German
d. Spanish
8. Of the following countries, which has a division between the English and French speakers that may someday lead to a permanent division.
a. Belgium
b. France
c. Canada
d. Netherlands
9. Which West African country has so many languages and lesser tongues that the government adopted English as its “official” language.
a. Liberia
b. Mali
c. Ghana
d. Nigeria
10. In the Stewart system of classification of place names, Rocky Mountains is an example of a ? name.
a. manufactured
b. possessive
c. descriptive
d. commendatory
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
1. Linguists estimate between 2000 and 3000 languages are being spoken in the world today. (TF)
2. In today’s world, because of migration, most developed countries do not have a standard language. (TF)
3. India has hundreds of languages, most of which are spoken by few people. (TF)
4. Languages that may seem to have the same roots but are very different, probably have words in common because of interaction between different cultures. (TF)
5. Occurring only in the past, language replacement occurred when invaders took over a small weaker group. (TF)
6. Those that believe the agriculture theory of language diffusion think the first language diffused from the Fertile Crescent . (TF)
7. When early large political systems collapsed language divergence took place. (TF)
8. During the colonial period, pidgin English developed in the Caribbean region when English was mixed with African languages, and was only spoken by the common people. (TF)
9. There are no true monolingual states left in the world today. (TF)
10. It is likely Belgium will follow Czechoslovakia ’s lead and divide along linguistic lines in the near future. (TF)
STUDY QUESTIONS
1. How is it that we have come to speak English in the United States, and how is it that English is becoming a lingua franca of the world? Trace the diffusion of Modern English back to its origin in Europe, and even further in the past to the proposed hearth of the Proto-Indo-European language. Be sure to back up your statements with accepted theories of language diffusion, and also include current examples illustrating how the U.S. is influencing the proliferation of the English language.
2. Study Figures 10-3, 10-4, 10-5, and 10-6. Relate these figures to information about them in the text. Why do you think some of these countries have had so many problems? Why do you think Switzerland does not have any problem?
3. What are the major components that make up the definition of language as spoken by humans? What is a standard language? How does the text explain a dialect and isoglosses?
4. Look at Figure 8-3. What does this tell you about the spread of the Indo-European languages? How do you think colonialism and migration (ancient and recent) helped in spreading these languages?
5. In Figure 8-5 we can see the location of Africa ’s language families. How does the text explain their location? How are different subfamilies related? Why is the Khoisan family considered the oldest?
6. Why is there debate over whether Chinese is one or several languages?
7. Describe the process of deep reconstruction and the role of sound shifts. What factors create problems for people trying to reconstruct old languages?
8. Discuss the theories of language diffusion. How does Cohn Renfrew carry one of these farther?
9. By looking at Figure 9-6, and reading the text, follow the diffusion of language in the Pacific. Discuss the problems encountered in interpreting the time frame and number of migrations.
10. Discuss the controversies surrounding the diffusion of languages in the Americas.
11. Discuss the process of creolization. How is it important in the formation and use of new languages?
12. Why do some countries choose to declare official languages? What are the risks a country faces when it makes such a decision?
13. What does the study of toponymy reveal about past and current cultures of a place? What can we learn from two-pan place names?
14. List the reasons countries have changed place names. Pay special attention to the former Soviet Union.
