NOTES UNIT 3 CULTURE LANGUAGE Language is fundamental component of culture best means of cultural transmission essential linking device in human cultures enables members of groups to communicate ALSO a barrier Classifications of Language Global languages vs local languages Top 14 languages spoken by 60 of world population bottom 500 languages divided among no more than 1 million people in remote regions of Asia Africa South America and Australasia About 6000 languages spoken in the world today As many as 1015 000 in prehistoric times Language illustrates the origin and dispersal of cultural elements Question What is the relation of one language to another Taxonomy of languages Family subfamily group language dialects and regional variations Distribution of languages clue to the past history of culture groups their migration contact isolation former distribution etc Spatial signals e g origins of Indo European languages e g migration patterns in Asia and Indian Ocean e g Africa Languages differentiate over time The greater the time lapse the more individual languages become e g Latin and Romance languages regions with languages that are somewhat different but closely related recent migration regions with languages of common roots yet strongly different modification over long time African history traced through languages Cultural patterns are not static in time or space language use and spatial distribution changing because of demographic changes and aggressive spread of second languages example of diffusion relocation and expansion Spatial changes in language Languages give clues about the culture of those speaking the language Sapir Whorf Hypothesis structure vocabulary ability to express concepts used to stratify society Nations can be classified as either mono bi or multi lingual Where do you find multilingual nations Common in former colonies where different culture groups were forced together by foreign interests and also found in nations settled by people from different culture sources Communication through lingua franca Reflect forces that divide a nation Why Language is an inseparable part of group identity and a defining characteristic of ethnic and cultural distinction TOPONYMS Look at any map of the United States and notice the kinds of place names toponyms that appear For example on a map of Texas you will see cities or towns named San Angelo and San Antonio Houston and Austin New Braunfels and Fredericksburg Amarillo Midland and El Paso among many Place names can give clues to past cultural landscapes They can also offer evidence of past migrations sequent occupance in an area even when time has erased other evidence Many toponyms have two parts generic classifying e g John s Town Pitt s Burgh Nash s Ville specific given e g Battle Creek Michigan this is an event a battle took place and a landscape feature the creek There are nine categories of toponyms Category Descriptive toponyms Associative Toponyms Incident Names Possessive Names Commemorative commemorating someone well known or in honor of a famous person Commendatory praising Manufactured made up names Mistaken historic errors in identification or translation Shift Names relocated names or names from settler s homeland Examples Rocky Mountains Chicago Stinking Onions in the language of the first inhabitants Mill River a mill was on the river Springfield Battle Creek Bloody Ridge Cut and Shoot Castro Valley Pittsburgh St Louis San Jacinto Houston Seattle named after Chief Seattle Austin Pennsylvania Penn s Woods Illinois after the Illini Indians Pleasant Valley Greenland Tesnus Sunset spelled backwards Reklaw Walker spelled backwards Iraan Ira and Ann name the town after each other West Indies not west of the Indies and not the Indies Athens Greece and Texas Palestine Middle East and Texas New Mexico settlers from Mexico named their new home after their previous home New England