Chapter 5 Objectives

Colton Ladbury Collins Honors Geography Period 3 18 October 2008 Unit #3: Culture/ Chapter 5 Objectives 1. Language is important to culture because that is how we conduct culture. Much of culture involves speaking, writing, or reading, thus making culture a key factor. it would be quite hard to do the elements of culture in sports and music without language. 2. Languages are classified as a system of communication that is understood by a certain group of people. These languages have words that mean the same thing but are written out differently. Languages are similar by being grouped in branches and families. Languages of the same family have the same root but have some variation between them. 3. Characteristics of English a. The origin of English is Engels, England b. English has diffused worldwide by the speakers going to countries for trade or from being driven out of their countries. c. The spatial variation of English is being the second most widely spoken language throughout the world. d. English’s role in cultural convergence is since it is so widely spoken, English lets all sorts of cultures interact. 1. Languages change by having many words being subtlety altered over a period of time resulting in many altered words. Languages change to make it better of easier to speak. Languages change within a country moving around along with between countries.

2. In the United States, most of us speak English. This is basic English on a regional level. Depending on the location one lives. One can have a accent as can be seen especially well in the south. Slang is also affected on the local scale. Words like y’all and ain’t are both spoken in certain areas and not others in the United States. An isogloss can be country lines, state lines or even continent lines. At those boundaries the predominant language can quite easily change.