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Languages of the World Uli Sauerland
[email protected] Centre for General Linguistics (ZAS), Berlin, Germany
Universität Tübingen, February 21, 2005
Counting Languages References
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Why International Mother Language Day?
U. Sauerland IMLD Language Families Origins Counting Languages References
Linguistic and cultural diversity represent universal values that strengther the unity and cohesion of society. The recognition of the the importance of linguistic diversity led to UNESCO’s decision to celebrate International Mother Language Day.
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When was it launched?
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The 30th session of the General Conference of UNESCO in 1999 decided that the Organization would launch and observe International Mother Language Day on 21 February every year throughout the world.
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What does it celebrate?
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International Mother Language Day’s objective is to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education, and to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.
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Topics of this Class
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Basic information about the world’s languages
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Language Endangerment
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Project work on a particular language
Map of Official Languages
Map of All Languages (www.ethnologue.com)
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Word for month
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Similar: English month, Dutch maand, German Monat, Swedish månad, Welsh mis, Gaelic mí, French mois, Spanish mes, Portuguese mês, Italian mese, Polish miesiac, Russian myesyats, Lithuanian menuo, Albanian muaj, Greek minas, Farsi mâh, Hindi mahina Different: Arabic (Afro-Asiatic) shahr, Finnish (Uralic) kuukausi, Basque (Isolate) hilabethe, Turkish (Altaic) ay, Malay (Malao-Polynesian) bulan, Zulu (Niger-Congo) inyanga, Mandarin (Sino-Tibetan) yue, Kannada (Dravidian) timgalu, Vietnamese (Austro-Asiatic) thang, Cherokee (Iroquoian) iyanvda, Japanese (Altaic?) gatsu
Origins Counting Languages References
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Historical Linguistics
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August Schleicher (1821–68): The Comparative Method Latin
German
English
duo dingua decem
zwei zunge zehn
ten tongue ten
References
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Indo-European
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Schleicher’s tree of Indo-European languages
Language Families Origins Counting Languages References
Well-Known Language Families (outside of America and Papua-New Guinea)
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1. Afro-Asiatic/Hamito-Semitic: Berber, Chadic, Cushitic, Semitic, . . . 2. Altaic: Mongolian, Turkic, (Japanese) 3. Austronesian: Formosan, Malayo-Polynesian 4. Pama-Nyungan: Australian Aborigine Languages 5. Indo-European: Celtic, Germanic, Slavic, Indo-Iranian, . . . 6. Dravidian: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam 7. Niger-Congo: Bantu 8. Sino-Tibetan: Himalayish, Sinitic 9. Uralic: Finno-Ugric 10. Isolates: Basque, Ainu
Origins Counting Languages References
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Languages Outside of Classification
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Sign languages of deaf populations
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Artificial languages (Esperanto, Klingon)
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Creoles
Families of Indigeneous Languages (languageserver.uni-graz.at)
Current Dominant Languages Spoken (www.wikipedia.org)
Processes changing and creating languages
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Language split and change: Romance, Dutch/Afrikaans
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Language contact: Balkan
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Creolization: Haitian Creole
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Language birth: Nicaraguan Sign Language (from 1979 on)
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Artificial languages: Esperanto (Ludovic Zamenhof, Warsaw, 1887, 1000 native speakers)
References
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Origin of Humanity and Languages Birth of homo sapiens: about 150,000 years ago 70,000 years ago: spread of homo sapiens from Africa
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(after L. Cavalli-Sforza, image from Wikipedia)
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Dialect vs. Language
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Mutual intelligibility: gradient criterion
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Romance languages (Spanish, French, Italian) are said to be about as different from each other as Chinese langauge (Mandarin, Cantonese, Wu)
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German vs. Dutch: Dialect continuum
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A language is a dialect with an army. Bulgarian vs. Macedonian, Croatian vs. Serbian
References
n
Distribution of Living Languages, Number of Languages 2000
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Total Living Languages
Origins
Percentage
Counting Languages References
The Americas
1,013
15%
Africa
2,058
30%
230
3%
Asia
2,197
32%
The Pacific
1,311
19%
TOTAL
6,809
Europe
(source: Grimes (2000))
NumberTOTAL of Languages
6,809
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(source: Grimes (2000))
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Distribution
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Mean number of speakers per language: 1 million
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Median number of speakers per language: 5000–6000 (Krauss, 1992)
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5% of languages account for 95% of all speakers
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5% of speakers account for 95% of languages
ause their speakers voluntarily abandon them, says Matthias Brenzinger, Where a dominant language is associated with progress and economic come under pressure to learn it in order to get on. The most obvious which is advancing by leaps and bounds—encouraged by the internet. ations consultancy, English accounts for two-thirds of all web content.
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Number of Speakers
already rule the e, nearly a sixth age. If you add the sh, Arabic and so as a second ver half of mankind
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rity ones retreat. embarrassing. As eople speak them, d, the last speakers with them.
uman history, died; why not let inority languages would make they do not, it em. Trying to save
nguists. Endangered speakers' way of he intervention of with man's nt, but the gress. Greenery has me rare butterfly, worthy goal. In the ed to safeguard ead loss of
(source: Economist Magazine/Unesco)
References I
Grimes, Barbara, ed. 2000. Ethnologue. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
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Krauss, Michael. 1992. The world’s languages in crisis. Language 68:4–10.
Counting Languages References
