AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

AP Human Geography: Language Flashcards

Language

Terms : Hide Images
12171462440Indo European language familyLargest language family Includes English and most other languages in the Western Hemisphere Also used in South and Southwest Asia. Includes the Germanic branch, Indo-Iranian branch, Balto-Slavic branch, and Romance branch.0
12171462441Sino-Tibetan Language Family2nd largest language family. Includes Mandarin, Thai, Cantonese and Burmese1
12171462456EbonicsA dialect of English spoken by some African Americans.2
12171462458FrancophonePlaces and countries where French is spoken around the world. (Quebec in Canada, Vietnam, Haiti, Sub-Saharan Africa, Belgium, Switzerland, France).3
12171462460Romance BranchA language branch of the Indo-European Language Family. This branch includes languages that evolved from Latin (the language of the Romans). The 5 main languages include: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, and Romanian.4
12171462461Germanic BranchA language branch of the Indo-European Language Family. Divided into North and West Germanic. North Germanic includes Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic), which all came from Old Norse. West Germanic is further divided into High Germanic and Low Germanic subgroups. High German includes the standard German language. Low German includes English, Dutch, Flemish (Dialect of Dutch), Afrikaans, and Frisian.5
12171462462Indo-Iranian BranchThe branch of the Indo-European language family with the most speakers. This branch includes more than 100 individual languages divided into an eastern group (Indic), which includes the languages of Hindi and Urdu and a western group (Iranian), which includes Farsi and Kurdish.6
12171462463Balto-Slavic BranchThis branch of the Indo-European language family can be broken down into four groups: East Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian), Baltic (Latvian, Lithuanian), West Slavic (Polish, Czech, and Slovak), and South Slavic (Serbo-Croatian). Russian is the most widely used language in this branch, due to the spread of the Soviet Union.7
12171462464Celtic BranchA language branch of the Indo-European Language Family. This branch includes the languages of the British Isles before the invasion of the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. This branch is divided into two language groups: Goidelic (Gaelic), which includes Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic, and Brythonic, which includes Welsh, Breton, and Cornish. These languages declined because the Celts lost most of their territory and the English colonizers forbid the use of the Celtic languages.8
12171462465Uralic Language FamilyLanguage Family in Europe that includes the languages of Estonian, Finnish, and Hungarian. Languages in this family originated from the Ural mountains in Russia, spreading through migration.9
12171462466Austronesian Language FamilyLanguage Family spoken mostly in Indonesia. This family includes the languages of Javanese, Indonesian, Malay, and Malagasy. The most spoken language in this family is Javanese, since Java is the populous island of Indonesia. The Indonesian language is used as a lingua franca in Indonesia, due to so many different native languages (739 active languages). Malay is spoken in Malaysia, Malagasy is spoken in Madagascar.10
12171462467Afro-Asiatic Language FamilyThis language family is found in northern Africa and southwestern Asia (Middle East), where Islam is the dominant religion. This family includes the languages of Arabic and Hebrew. Hebrew is spoken in Israel, a Jewish state, and Arabic is spoken throughout the region since it is the language of the Koran, the Islamic holy book.11
12171462468Niger-Congo Language FamilyMore than 95% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa speak languages from this family. This family includes Swahili, the lingua franca in Africa, used by many to communicate as a second language, due to so many different native languages.12
12171462469Prehistoric SubgroupA language that predates the current language family, before the written record. Ex: Proto-Indo-European13
12171462470Altaic Language FamilyA language family spoken across central Asia named after the Altai Mountains. The most spoken language in this family is Turkish. The family also includes the languages spoken in the Caucasus Region and across Central Asia, previously controlled by the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, newly independent countries in these regions reverted to their native languages in this family, including the countries of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia and Georgia.14
12171462471Kurgan TheoryProposed by Marija Gimbutas, this theory argues the Proto-Indo-European language diffused by military conquest as nomadic herders on horseback (Kurgans) invaded west from the Asian Steppe ( border between Russia and Kazakhstan) around 4300 B.C in search of grasslands.15
12171462472Renfrew (Anatolian) TheoryProposed by Colin Renfrew, this theory argues the Proto-Indo-European language diffused by way of agricultural practices from Anatolia (Turkey) in 6300 BC.16
12171462479HindiApproximately one-third of Indians, mostly in the north, use this Indic language. This language can be spoken in many different ways, but there is only one official way to write the language, using a script called Devanagari. It serves as the lingua franca in India and is used by the government, growing into a national language in the nineteenth century when the British encouraged its use in government. It is part of the Indo-Iranian branch.17
12171462480SwahiliThe lingua franca in Africa, used by many to communicate as a second language, due to so many different native languages. This language was developed between African and Arab traders and is one for the few African languages with extensive literature. It is part of the Niger-Congo language family.18
12171462481UrduPakistan's principal language, spoken very much like Hindi but written with the Arabic alphabet, a legacy of the fact that most Pakistanis are Muslims, and their holiest book (the Quran) is written in Arabic. It is part of the Indo-Iranian branch.19
12171462482FarsiThe principle language of Iran, a remnant of the Persian Empire. It is written with the Arabic alphabet since Iran is a Muslim country. This language is part of the Indo-Iranian branch.20
12171462483MandarinThis language is the most spoken language in the world. It is spoken by approximately three-fourths of the Chinese people, and is used by the Chinese government. There is no single Chinese language. Instead of letters, Chinese languages use ideograms (characters) that mostly represent concepts rather than sounds.21
12171462484ArabicThis language serves as a unifying force in the Middle East (Northern Africa and Southwest Asia), typically referred to as the Arab World. This language is the language of Islam (used in the Koran),, which is predominant throughout the region. This language belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family and is the official language in two dozen countries of North Africa and southwestern Asia, from Morocco to the Arabian Peninsula.22
12171462485HebrewThis language was an extinct language that has been revived. It diminished in use in the fourth century B.C. and was thereafter retained only for Jewish religious services. When Israel was established in 1948, this language became one of the new country's two official languages, along with Arabic. This language was chosen to unify the Jews of Israel and give them a sense of nationalism, since Israel was created by Jewish refugees and migrants who spoke many different languages. Reviving this language required the creation of many new words for the modern world.23
12171462486Irish GaelicThis is one of the two official languages of Ireland, along with English. Branches off from Indo-European branch This language was forbidden under English rule. When Ireland got their independence form England in 1922, this language became an important part of their cultural identity and sense of nationalism and became a compulsory course in all public schools and required for public service jobs.24
12171462487BasqueAlso known as Euskera, this isolated language predates the Indo-European language and is not related to any other language family in Europe. Spoken in the Pyrenees Mountains (between Spain and France), the mountainous homeland created isolation, making the preservation of the language possible.25
12171462488WelshThis is one of the two official languages of Wales, along with English. This language was forbidden under English rule, but has been revived in recent years. This language is a compulsory subject in all schools in Wales and knowledge of the language is now required for many jobs in Wales. Bilingual signs and television and radio programs have also been added to help preserve this language.26
12171462489InuktitutThe language spoken by the Inuits (indigenous tribe) of northern Canada. It is recognized as an official language, along with English and French in Nunavut, the Inuit territory of Canada. Similar to the Celtic languages, it has declined with the forces of globalization and is undergoing a revival since it is an important part of the Inuit culture and is taught in schools and represented on bilingual signs and in the government.27
12171462490GlobalizationThe process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence and operate on an international scale. Currently, America dominates the world with multinational corporations and media, which has made English the world's current lingua franca (international language of business).28
12171462491QuebecThis province in Canada primarily speaks French, due to its history of colonization. As a result, Canada is officially bilingual, recognizing both English and French as official languages.29
12171462492LatinThe language of the Romans30
12171462493Latin AmericaThis region of the Americas primarily speaks Romance Languages, which derived from Latin. Brazil speaks Portuguese, Haiti and French Guiana speak French, while the majority of the other countries speak Spanish, all due to the patterns of colonization.31
12171462494BelgiumThis multilingual state in Europe, which is part of the francophone world, has experienced tensions between its two language groups. The Flemings live in the north province Flanders and speak Flemish, a Dutch dialect. The Walloons live in the south province Wallonia and speak French. Brussels, the capital city if officially bilingual to create a since of unity in the country. Antagonism between the Flemings and Walloons is aggravated by economic and political differences. Historically, the Walloons dominated Belgium's economy and politics and French was the official state language.32
12171462495SwitzerlandThis multilingual state in Europe, which is part of the francophone world, remains peaceful with four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romanish). This country has institutionalized cultural diversity by creating a form of government that places considerable power in local, small communities (Decenetralization).33
12186751118Monolingual States and ExampleCountries in which only one language is spoken. Example: Japan, Iceland, Uruguay, Venezuela, Denmark, Portugal, Poland34
12186768840Multilingual States and ExampleCountries in which more than one language is spoken. Examples: Belgium, Switzerland, Nigeria35
12186937679Language ClassificationOfficial and standard36
12191107495Creole Language and ExampleA language derived from a pidgin that has acquired a fuller vocabulary and more formal structure. It becomes the native language of its speakers. Example: Sango, Kinubi, and Haitian Creole37
12191369177lingua francaa common language used by people who do not share the same native language38
12191406693International communicationinteractions among people from different nations lingua francas are used in this interaction39
12191443622pidgin languagea simplified language (simple grammar and limited vocabulary) mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages; this language is usually not the group's primary language40
12191577675Standard languageacceptable form a given language41
12191593960Official languageThe language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents.42
12191600542language hierarchyFamily, Branch, Group, Language, Dialect43
12191753870Indo-Aryan groupHindi is the largest language from the Indo-Aryan group44
12191761974Iranian groupSpoken in Iran, Central Asia Major languages written in Arabic alphabet Largest spoken language is Farsi, Persian Ex. Persian, Kurdish45
12191851334Isolated languageA language that is unrelated to any other languages and therefore not attached to any language family.46
12191863280LogogramA symbol that represents a word rather than a sound47
12191879227language convergencethe collapsing of two languages into one resulting from the consistent spatial interaction of peoples with different languages48
12191912890language divergenceA process whereby new languages are formed when a language breaks into dialects due to a lack of spatial interaction among speakers of the language and continued isolation eventually causes the division of the language into discrete new languages.49
12191940920Extinct Language and ExampleLanguage without any native speakers. Example: Apalachee50
12191954732Isoglossthe boundaries around an area of space where there are variations in pronunciations or word usage51

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!