Human Geography Ch. 5

Question 1

Characteristics of language

Answer 1

• System of communication through speech
• Collection of sounds a group of people understand to have the same meaning

Question 2

Used by government for conducting business and publishing documents

Answer 2

Official language

Question 3

Characteristics of a language family

Answer 3

• Collection of languages related through a common ancestral language
• Existed before written history

Question 4

Characteristics of a language branch

Answer 4

• Collection of languages within a family related through a common ancestral language
• Existed several thousand years ago

Question 5

Collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in relatively recent past

Answer 5

Language Group

Question 6

What two language families are used by 2/3 of the world?

Answer 6

Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan

Question 7

What are the 4 branches of Indo-European languages?

Answer 7

Germanic, Indo-Iranian, Romance, and Balto-Slavic

Question 8

What languages are Germanic?

Answer 8

Scandinavian languages

Question 9

Characteristics of the Indo-Iranian branch

Answer 9

• Most speakers
• Most widely used in South Asia (Hindi in India)

Question 10

What did Romance evolve from?

Answer 10

Latin

Question 11

What are examples of Romance languages?

Answer 11

Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Italian

Question 12

Balto-Slavic is most widely used in ______

Answer 12

Russia

Question 13

Where are Balto-Slavic languages?

Answer 13

Russia and Eastern Europe

Question 14

What are the three possible ways of how languages spread?

Answer 14

Diffusion, Nomadic Warrior Theory, and Sedentary Farmer Theory

Question 15

How would languages spread through diffusion?

Answer 15

• Through migration
• Migration and isolation are key dialect-formation processes

Question 16

Characteristics of the Nomadic Warrior Theory

Answer 16

• First Indo-European speakers may have been Kurgan people
• Conquered much of Europe and South Asia (in search of grassland for animals)

Question 17

Colin Renfrew believes Indo-European migrated in Europe and South Asia with agricultural practices

Answer 17

Sedentary Farmer Theory

Question 18

English =

Answer 18

language of England

Question 19

How did English spread?

Answer 19

Migration from England to various parts of the world

Question 20

English is the official language in ___ countries

Answer 20

54

Question 21

Where is English predominant?

Answer 21

U.S., Australia, UK

Question 22

What language may become the leading language by online users? (possibly also most important language of social media)

Answer 22

Chinese

Question 23

Language of international communication

Answer 23

Lingua Franca

Question 24

Characteristics of Lingua Franca

Answer 24

• Spread through diffusion
• English most important

Question 25

Mixes simplified grammar and limited vocabulary of lingua franca with another language

Answer 25

Pidgin English

Question 26

________ is regional variation of a language distinguished by _______, _______, and ________.

Answer 26

Dialect vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation

Question 27

A subdivision of a dialect

Answer 27

Subdialect

Question 28

Generally speakers of one dialect ___ understand of another dialect

Answer 28

can

Question 29

Dialects in U.S. are a result of _________ movement of colonists from 3 East Coast dialect regions

Answer 29

westward

Question 30

Word-usage boundary

Answer 30

Isoglosses

Question 31

What is an example of an isoglass?

Answer 31

Soft drink dialects

Question 32

Why is there a difference between American and British dialects?

Answer 32

Isolation

Question 33

When did American and British dialects evolve differently?

Answer 33

18th and 19th centuries

Question 34

In what ways does U.S. English differ from England's?

Answer 34

- Vocabulary - Spelling - Pronunciation

Question 35

Why is the U.S. English vocabulary different from that in England?

Answer 35

Different encounters and inventions

Question 36

Why is the U.S. English spelling different from that in England?

Answer 36

Diverged because of U.S. strong national identity

Question 37

Why is the U.S. English pronunciation different from that in England?

Answer 37

Interaction was done largely through print

Question 38

Language unrelated to any other language

Answer 38

Isolated language

Question 39

What type of language is not attached to any language family

Answer 39

Isolated language

Question 40

Once used by people in daily activities but no longer in use

Answer 40

Extinct languages

Question 41

What are extinct languages due to?

Answer 41

Globalization

Question 42

Language at risk of extinction because it has few surviving speakers

Answer 42

Endangered languages

Question 43

Endangered languages are spoken by ______ generations

Answer 43

older