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AP Human Geography Language Unit Flashcards

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3499173135CultureSum of all the typical activities of a group of people (how a group lives) -values -material items -institutions (government, religion, etc)0
34991731416 Official Languages of the UNEnglish, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, & Mandarin -EU however has 23 official language (wants to acknowledge every culture there)1
3499173142Languagesystematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventional signs, gestures, marks, or especially articulate vocal sounds\ -VOCALIZATION IS CRUCIAL (esp. if discussing humans) -examples: Tamil, math, music, dancing, Cantonese, Flemish, etc.2
3499173144Why is language at the heart of culture?without language- culture can not be transmitted -Sans la langue, la culture ne peut pas se transmettre3
3499173145What is literary tradition?A system of writing- helps cultural continuity -Mandarin=oldest "surviving" writing system -ideograms (characters/symbols vs. alphabets (letters) -invention of printing press helps spread literacy (1439)4
3499173146Approximately, how many languages are spoken today?It is estimated that between 4000 to 8000 different languages are spoken today5
3499173148Language familyCollection of related languages with a common history with a "prehistoric" ancestor (most broad language category)6
3499173149The language families-indo-European -Sino-Tibetan -Afro-asiatic -Niger-Congo -austronesian -Dravidian (Altaic & Uralic, etc.)7
3499173150Indo-EuropeanLargest language family- (Western Hemisphere, Europe, India) -English, German, Hindi, all the Romance languages, Russian, Farsi, Greek, Hindi8
3499173151Sino-Tibetan2nd largest language family -mandarin, Thai; Cantonese, Burmese9
3499173152Afro-asiatic3rd largest language family (tied with Niger-Congo) North Africa/ middle east -Arabic, Hebrew, Somali, Berber10
3499173153Niger-Congo3rd largest language family- sub-Saharan Africa (tied with Afro-Asiatic) -Swahili, Zulu, Yoruba, Igbo, Kongo11
3499173154Austronesian4th largest language family- Southeast Asia/Polynesia -Javanese, Malay, Indonesian, Hawaiian, etc.12
3499173155Dravidian5th largest language family- Southeast India -Tamil, Telugu, etc.13
34991731562 Other Language familiesAltaic- Turkish Uralic- Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian14
3499173157Language BranchCollection of related languages with a common "ancient" ancestor -ex. Indo-European language family has 8 major branches: -4 Major branches: Germanic, Romance (Italic), Balto-Slavic, Indo-Iranian -4 Minor branches: Hellenic, Albanian, Celtic, Armenian15
3499173158Language Group-common "modern" ancestor with similar vocabulary and grammar -ex. West Germanic vs. North Germanic -English is West Germanic16
3499173159Individual LanguageThis final step of the Language classification -ex. English, German, Dutch, etc.17
3499173160Give an example of the language classification of EnglishA. Indo-European→B. Germanic→C.West Germanic→D.English→E. Northern/Southern dialect, etc.18
3499173161Dialect"Regional" variation of a language Standard Language should really be called standard dialect19
3499173162"Standard Language"-Should really be called "Standard dialect" -well established & widely recognized as the most acceptable for the government, business, & mass communication -sets the quality, which is the matter of cultural identity and national concern -sustained by official state examination, officials, etc. -Ex. "standard Chinese" = Mandarin -BRP- "British received pronunciation" for British English, used by politicians, broadcasters, officials -American Sign Language (ASL)20
3499173163American vs. British English-mostly lower/middle class immigrants left Britain to go to the newly-created United States not those speaking BRP -American English has different phrases/expressions b/c of new things experienced in America -Also, some words were borrowed from Native Americans -Because of time and isolation, due to written communication, pronunciation is considerably different (Time-Distance Decay!!)21
3499173166Isoglossword-usage boundary or map which shows regional variations & pronunciation22
3499173168Mandarin1. World's most spoken 2. One of the oldest written languages 3. many dialects which are mutually unintelligible 1. Has highest % of people who speak it as a primary lang. (English=2nd place)23
3499173173Official LanguageHas several different purposes 1. Used in hopes of enhancing internal communication among ppl who speak diverse traditional languages 2. Many former African countries have adopted the language of their former colonies 3. Some former colonies chose 2 official languages 4. Creating official languages has caused problems occasionally (ex. when Hindi was given official status, riots and disorder broke out in non-Hindi areas24
3499173174Languages of Africa-Most are pre-literate (only spoken) -largest language family- Niger-Congo -Largest Branch- Bantu (Swahili) -Oldest Language in Africa=Khoisan -Afro-Asiatic language family- in N. Africa- NiloSaharan, Khoisan, Austronesian, Indo-European25
3499173175Esperanto-Language which was created as a project by L.L. Zamenhof in hopes to create a world language- late 19th century -an attempt to unify/globalize multilingual Europe -Few ppl wanted to learn another Indo-European lang. that did not have a practical use=failure! -Still has around 20,000 fluent speakers, however26
3499173176Lingua FrancaLanguage used when conducting business- facilitates international communication (any common language spoken by peoples with different native tongues)27
3499173177PidginNOT A LANGUAGE -created out of a mixture of other language as a means of communication between speakers of different tongues -simplified mixture/hybrid -learned as a 2nd language (NO NATIVE SPEAKERS) -AKA "contact language" -ex. "Chinglish" "Spanglish" "Konglish" -common in Caribbean region -English and African languages combine to form a pidgin English28
3499173178Creole & Creolization-A combination of languages that is stable over time AND has complex grammar and vocabulary -often a mix of dominant colonial language & an indigenous language EX: -Afrikaans- Dutch and Bantu languages in S. Africa -Gullah/Geechee- pidgin of English and W. African in Georgia and South Carolina -Jamaican Patois- English and W. African in Jamaica -French Creole- French/Spanish/African in Louisiana -Macanese- Cantonese/Portuguese/Sinhalese/Malay Can a Language be both a Creole and a Lingua Franca? Yes- Swahili for example29
3499173179Pop vs. Folk CulturePop Culture- changes from time to time Folk Culture- changes from place to place30
3499173180Pop Culture-large dispersed groups -heterogeneous groups (ethnicities, religion, etc.) -found in higher level of development (MDCs) -changes quickly and often -dispersed- global scale -modern societies with large amounts of interaction with other -ex. Wearing jeans, driving a Honda, eating McDonald's, etc.31
3499173181Folk Culture-small, isolated groups -homogeneous groups (ethnicities, religions, etc.) -lower levels of economic development typically (LDCs) -resists & slow to change -traditional societies with little interaction with other groups -ex. wearing a Sari or Burka, driving a horse & buggy, eating different parts of an animal or eating insects32
3499173182Cultural hearth of Pop Culture-CORE/MDCs -From where do most movies people watch come from? Hollywood vs. Bollywood33
3499173183Cultural Hearths of Folk CultureIn one or multiple hearths, often anonymously -ex. Who was the first Hula dancer in Hawaii?34
3499173184Diffusion in Pop vs. Folk Culture-Pop Culture- hierarchically- often through celebrities and major urban centers then goes to contagious diffusion (ex. movie premiers in NYC, LA, London, etc. -Folk Culture- Relocation, through physical movement of the people (ex. movement of the Amish to other parts of the United States)35
3499173185How is local diversity sometimes maintained with folk culture?-Isolation- keeps folks from changing too much hold on to traditional values, reject economic and culture imperialism of the West -Physical environment limits some choices of how people can survive (but remember, Possibilism!)36
3499173186CustomAny repetitive act of a group37
3499173188More Pop culture characteristics...-secular -individualistic (me not we) -more promiscuous -women's rights -provocative clothing -nuclear family (only direct family) -wood and brick homes -TV/Internet readily available38

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