Chapter 5: Language and Religion

Question 1

Natural Language

Answer 1

developed naturally in use

Question 2

Formal Language

Answer 2

designed for use in specific situations (e.g. logic, math, computer programming)

Question 3

World Patterns of languages

Question 4

Language evolution

Answer 4

• languages evolve in place, responding to dynamics of social and economic change and spatial interaction in closely integrated world
• new artifacts and sociofacts demand new words

Question 5

“b” and geography

Question 6

Language diffusion

Answer 6

• languages diffuse in space, carried by streams of migrants, colonizers, and conquerors
• represents increase or relocation over time in area within which language is spoken

Question 7

Language families

Answer 7

groups of languages that have descended from single earlier language

Question 8

Proto Indu-European (PIE) language

Answer 8

• by looking for words in different Indo-Euro languages derived from same root word, linguists can conclude what what were PIE
• we can guess several things about them:
  
  • raised cattle
  • kept pet dogs
  • bows and arrows
  • male god in sky
  • wool clothes
  • lived in wooded
    area

Question 9

The language family tree

Answer 9

• Indo-European linguistic family tree

- e.g. French comes from Latin which comes from Italic (IE language

Question 10

Toponymy

Answer 10

• study of place names
• record of past inhabitants whose naming practices endure, perhaps corrupted and disguised, as reminders of their existence

Question 11

Proper place name

Answer 11

• consist of 2 parts: generic (classifying) and specific (modifying or particular)
• e.g. Big River (English), Rio Grande (Spanish), Mississippi (Algonquin), and Ta Ho (Chinese)

Question 12

Belief systems

Answer 12

common beliefs, understandings, expectations, and objects held in high regard

• unite culture groups
• elements: values, substantive beliefs, orientation, languages, perspective, prescriptions, ideological tech/strategy

Question 13

Religion

Answer 13

a belief system that involves some or all of the following characteristics:

• rituals
• addresses meaning of life
• practiced by group of people

Question 14

Is Confucianism a religion?

Answer 14

• closer to philosophy than religion, it was way of life for ancient Chinese people, and continues to influence Chinese culture today

Question 15

Universalizing religions

Answer 15

• claim universal application
• ex. Islam, Christianity, Buddhism
• spread through missionaries

Question 16

World Pattern of Religions

Answer 16

• more than 1/2 world’s pop. adheres to one of major universalizing religions
• Buddhism is largely Asian and Hinduism is largely Indian
• extensive areas of world are peopled by those who practice tribal/traditional religions

Question 17

The Zionism of Judaism

Answer 17

• Zionism: belief in need to create an autonomous Jewish state in Palestine
• diaspora of Jews from homeland
• 2 separate branches: Sephardim and Ashkenazim

Question 18

The reform of Christianity

Answer 18

• division after fall of Roman Empire
• Eastern and Western churches
• protestant reformation and roman catholicism

Question 19

The diffusion of Christianity

Answer 19

• expansion diffusion: establishment of missionaries and colonies of converts in locations distant from hearth location
• hierarchical diffusion: Rome was principal center for dispersal
• contagious diffusion: through those nodes and monasteries established in pagan rural areas
• relocation diffusion: missionary efforts, forced conversion

Question 20

The 5 pillars of Islam

Answer 20

• repeated saying of basic creed
• prayers 5 times daily at appointed times (facing Mecca)
• 1 month of daytime fasting during Ramadan
• Almsgiving
• if possible, pilgrimage to Mecca

Question 21

The Caste structure of society

Answer 21

• “birth”

- expression of the eternal transmigration of souls

Question 22

Karma

Answer 22

• deeds or conduct in previous lives

- position in this life is determined by one’s karma

Question 23

Sects of Buddhism

Answer 23

• Theravada:
• Mahayana:
• Vajrayana:

Question 24

Hierarchical language diffusion

Answer 24

those who are in or aspire to positions of importance are first to adopt new language control and prestige

Question 25

Protolanguage

Answer 25

ancestral tongue

Question 26

Origins of PIE: the Kurgan Hypothesis

Answer 26

language emerged among nomadic people living north of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea about 6000 years ago

Question 27

Dialects

Answer 27

• social dialects
• vernacular language
• geographic and regional dialects

Question 28

Isogloss

Answer 28

• each isogloss is distinctive entity
• taken together, isoglosses give clear map evidence of dialect regions that in turn may reflect paths/barriers for spatial interaction, long-estab. political borders, or past migration flows and diffusion of word choice and pronunciation

Question 29

Pidgins

Answer 29

• mixture of languages

- simplified form of language (English or French) with words borrowed from another (non-European) language

Question 30

Creoles

Answer 30

if a pidgin becomes first language of a group of speakers

Question 31

Ethnic religions

Answer 31

• closely tied to ethnicity through birth or lifestyle

- ex. Judaism, Hindusim, Shinto

Question 32

Tribal or traditional religions

Answer 32

• practiced among small groups

- Shamanism and Animism

Question 33

Monotheism

Answer 33

• belief in one god
• worship one god while denying existence of other gods
• ex. Christianity, Judaism, Islam

Question 34

Polytheism

Answer 34

• belief in many gods

- ex. Hinduism, Taoism

Question 35

Atheism

Answer 35

• do not believe in existence of gods

- ex. Buddhism