Language and the Landscape: Linguistic Geography
Introduction
Language is a powerful shaper of who we are, commonly considered the central core of cultural identity.
Where is this evident in a recent “cultural war”?
“Illegal Alien vs. __________?”
Geolinguistics is a growing subdiscipline in geography.
In the last decade, cultural theory has increasingly argued that language and the control of systems of meaning as the primary source of political power.
Some Definitions
What is a language?
Language families are large and old
Language branches are smaller and formed more recently
Language groups are more closely related and aren’t that old
Language Tree
Leaves are languages
Language families are depicted as trunks.
Groups and Branches are in between.
Chart
Note the large percentage of Indo-European speakers.
Includes?
What about Sino-Tibetan?
Map of Languages
Language Families- West
Indo-European Speakers Worldwide
Note the main groups.
English is closely related to what other language?
Germanic Languages
Share both common words and structural similarities.
Romance Languages
Evolved from Latin
Notice the gray patches on the map.
To what do they correspond?
Indo-Iranian Languages
More speakers than other branches.
Very confusing mix of languages and alphabets.
Dravidian?
Hindi

Which of the following languages is LEAST related to English?
A.  German
B.  Farsi
C.  Hindi
D.   French
English
Why is English so widespread?
Technology
English is used for a variety of technical and legal matters world wide.
It’s also good for business!
How did it get this way?
Preservation
Many languages are becoming extinct.
Canada?
United States?
What language was resurrected from the dead? 
Quebecois
Two separatist referenda failed during the last 20 years.
Arête!
Quebec City (Ville de Quebec?)
The irony of the sign?
Basque
What do you know about this linguistic minority here in California?
Spanglish
The US has a number of linguistic challenges as well.
Difficult to preserve culture without language.
Difficult to enter mainstream without language.
Irony?
LA!
How does the size of Los Angeles permit this phenomena?
LA!
The challenge and beauty of living in Los Angeles represented on a sign in Northridge.
Bladerunner?
Which language is nearly extinct in South Louisiana?
A.  French Creole
B.  Cajun French
C.  Cajun Spanish
D.  Gullah/Geechy French

Dialects
What is a dialect?
What is an accent?
In addition to region, what other factors contribute to dialect?
English Dialects in the United States
Three major dialects are spoken by three major subcultural groups.
Northern
Midland
Southern
Consider the various expressions for “highway”
What other words or terms are used in one part of the country but not in others?
Major US Dialect Regions (fig)
Massive Dialect Map 
http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapCanada

Linguistic Isoglosses (fig)
 (fig)
Pop vs. Soda
Another Version
http://www.popvssoda.com/ 
A website where you once could vote…
An outstanding data collection device.
Or based on tweets:
http://blog.echen.me/2012/07/06/soda-vs-pop-with-twitter/
Are there other terms that you can think of that you could set up a website about?.
Ebonics
Partly a variant of the Southern Dialect
Many Southerners now speaking Midland English.
Center of a controversy in early 1990s when Oakland school board suggested Ebonics a “language”.
Partly a pidginized English
Why is this geographic?
Ebonics
Multiple Varieties of Ebonics-not just slang
Pulpit Ebonics: the linguistic style of the black churches
Sports Ebonics: the linguistic style of black athletes
Musical Ebonics: the linguistic style of black musicians and singers.
Consider “the dozens” and Hip Hop
Georgia’s Gullah Islanders
Cultural Ecology of Language
The way we speak is also affected by the natural environment in which we live.
Dialects and languages face many of the same barriers other cultural practices do.
Diffusion Barrier (fig)
Tangiers, Virginia 
http://youtu.be/AIZgw09CG9E

Gullah Islands
http://youtu.be/rCYBf-1yHmI?t=27s 
Appalachian Mountains
http://youtu.be/03iwAY4KlIU?t=4s 
Louisiana Swamp
http://youtu.be/BRXcpBIteEM?t=28s

American Plains
http://youtu.be/5tbsiqaqh_4

L.A. Dialect?
What sort of “accent” do Los Angelenos have?
What would account for the dialect of Los Angeles?
Culturo-Linguistic Integration
Language is an important indicator of the health, status and changing nature of wider cultural issues.
Politics, economics, social and cultural movement are all reflected in the linguistic changes of a society
How Does a Language Achieve Dominance
or Die Out?
A. Technology (military)
B. Social Morale
-Doesn’t always happen (Greek, Chinese)
C. The Economic Development Model
-migration out (clearance)
-migration in (changeover).
D. Language and Religion
Do rainforest languages even have a term for “desert”? 
Language and Power
-language is a powerful tool in the maintenance of political arrangements (on both sides of the coin)
Consider the evolution of the term “mugging” in the British press.
Linguistic Landscapes
Toponyms (place names)
-serve as reminders of migration patterns, ethnicity and religion.
-lots of places have Indian names
-what place names in California serve as indicators of past political arrangements?
-can you you name any?
Toponyms as Clue to the Past (fig)
 Linguistic Landscape of PA (fig)
Penn-German Forebay Barn (fig)
What American term did British newspapers begin using in the late 1970s, that sparked British fears about crime?
A.  Rolling
B.  Mugging
C.  Pillaging
D.  Busking
“Center” and duplicate names (fig) 
If you drove into a town called “Woodstock Center”, the first house you would see would most like be a(n):
A.  Saltbox
B.  Dog Trot
C.  Shotgun
D.  I-house
American landscape Project
https://picasaweb.google.com/AmericanLandscapeProject