Thoughts and Ruminations on Chapter 6

Thoughts & Ruminations on Chapter Six - Language

Trevor Jones

12/10/15

Per. 3 

Sources: 

Human Geography: People, Places, and Culture: Chapter 6 - Language 

http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/english-words-from-around-the-world/?utm_campaign=Blog_Augment_1&utm_source=Facebook_org&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_post 

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/09/aramaic-middle-east-language/404434/ 

http://taskandpurpose.com/how-americas-wars-have-changed-the-english-language/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share&utm_content=tp-share

http://www.pangeanic.com/knowledge_center/country-with-the-highest-level-of-language-diversity-papua-new-guinea/#

          Many people, mostly including travelers, businesspeople, scientists, and technological experts, want to see a creation of a global language, but this has been proven impossible by several examples around the world because language is not just a form of communication to people, but also means of self identification and preservation to certain groups, so the human race has accepted the use of multiple official languages around the world with little restriction, then local languages can keep their language, but more importantly their sense of identity and culture that is related to the language that they speak. 

How is a global language born and how does that language develop and prosper before its decline? 

          Throughout the time period of 600 and 200 BC, the Aramaic Language served as a Lingua Franca from Greece and Egypt, across Mesopotamia and Persia, and all the way throughout India. This language was the global language of the day, and was commonly used for trade among people of different linguistic background. This same language, was virtually nonexistent in the century after that, which poses the question of: How is that possible? The Aramaic language began the was most languages would, as a local language spoken by a group of people with a similar identity, but what differed from most languages is the people's social structure. 

The Aramaeans were a group of nomads, seeking for land to rule. In the 11th century, the Aramaeans rules a large area of territory in Mesopotamia, encompassing parts of modern day Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, and the city of Babylon itself for a short period of time. However during this time period, the Aramaic language slowly spread throughout the kingdom of Mesopotamia, and by the time the Assyrians took control of of the kingdom in 911 BC, the language had become widely heard of throughout the Middle East and Europe as a whole. The Assyrians deported Aramaic speakers to a variation of distant locations, which rather than clearing the territory of Aramaic speakers, instead infused distant cultures with the Aramaic language that they had heard so much about. This lead to language convergence and and the birth of new dialects of the Aramaic language all throughout the continent. The language continued to spread whilst being modified by several different ways, including times of war. This is similar to the modification of the English language based on the Korean, Vietnamese and world wars' affects on the language. These wars modify the way we speak and think in the form of a sound shift know as slang. As the Aramaic language diffused around the world, the language was also influenced by other languages, which alter vocabulary and the sound of the language. This can be related to the English language as well, which was influenced by Latin, French, Spanish and many other languages. 

Because Aramaic no longer had a strong hearth, the language slowly faded and took the form of the languages they converged with, names we know today as Mandaic, Assyrian, and more not listed here. Aramaic was in a splintered state, and was eventually diminished by the Greeks and Islam (Arabic), both of whom pushed their languages upon the people of their kingdoms. Because English seems like a good language to compare to Aramaic, both being considered linguistic superpowers of their time, somebody could easily say that English will follow the same path as Aramaic did. This is most likely not true for many reasons, including the English language's print, widespread literacy and omnipresent media, however languages are fluid and nothing is inevitable.  

          The reason I chose this map of Southern Oceana, was because it included the country Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world, with over 820 languages spoken by its people. That means there is a language for every 8,563 Papua New Guineans, if the languages were evenly distributed among the population. However, this is not the case, Papua New Guinea has three official languages: English, Hiri Motu, and Tok Pisin that are spoken by a large percent of the population as a primary or secondary language. There are several reasons why this is the most diverse country, but like many other countries, Isolation players a big role. Papua New Guinea has a lot of natural diversions, that have created natural barriers between peoples of different language. Also, the country is part of a larger community of Polynesian culture that spreads wide across Oceana, meaning language evolved from isolation after stemming from a unified source.