AP Human Geography Chapter 5 - Language Flashcards | Quizlet

AP Human Geography Chapter 5 - Language

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Define language
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Define language
A system of communication through speech; a collection of sounds that a group of people understands to have the same meaning.
How are migration and language related to one another?
The contemporary distribution of languages around the world is largely a result of past migrations of people. People in two locations speak the same language because of migration from one of the locations to another.
How does "isolation" impact the distribution of language around the world?
If two groups have few connections with each other (isolation) after the migration, their languages will begin to differ. After a long period without contact, the two groups will speak languages that are so different that they are classified as separate languages. The interplay between interaction and isolation helps explain the distribution of individual languages and entire language families.
Define the following:
a. Institutional language
b. Official language
c. Developing language
d. Vigorous language
e. Literary tradition
a. A language used in education, work, mass media, and government.
b. The language adopted for use by a government for the conduct of business and publication of documents. It is not always spoken by the majority of the population.
c. A language spoken in daily use with a literary tradition that is not widely distributed.
d. A language that is spoken in daily use but lacks a literary tradition
e. A language that is written as well as spoken
How are the world's languages organized?
a. A language family is a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history.
b. A language branch is a collection of languages within a family related through a common ancestral language that existed several thousand years ago; differences are not as extensive or as old as between language families.
c. A language group is a collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display many similarities in grammar and vocabulary.