Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
national and local language preservation abound, English continues to expand as a
global language for commerce, trade, and popular culture.
In this chapter, we question what languages are and examine the roles lan-
guages play in cultures. We study the spatial distribution of the world's languages
and learn how languages diffuse, change, and even become extinct. Finally, we
examine how language contributes to making places unique.
Key Questions
For Chapter 6
1.
What are languages, and what role do languages play in cultures?
2.
Why are languages distributed the way they are?
3.
How do languages diffuse?
4.
What role does language play in making places?
French the offi cial language. In 1994, the French govern-
ment passed another law to stop the use of foreign (mainly
English) words in France, with a hefty fi ne imposed for vio-
lators. The law mandates French translations for globalized
words, requiring the use of offi cial French terms in offi cial
communications rather than le meeting, le weekend, le
drugstore, or le hamburger. The Internet, where 49.9 per-
cent of Internet users browse in English or Chinese (Fig.
6.4), has posed another set of challenges for the Académie
Française. Many of the translations the Académie requires
are somewhat cumbersome. For example, the offi cial
translation of e-mail was “courrier electronique,” but the
Académie shortened it to “courriel.”
In addition to demonstrating the confl icting forces
of globalized language and local or national language, the
example of France reveals that language is much more than
a way of communicating. A
language
is a set of sounds and
symbols that is used for communication. But language is
also an integral part of culture, refl ecting and shaping it.
WHAT ARE LANGUAGES, AND WHAT ROLE
DO LANGUAGES PLAY IN CULTURES?
A scene in Quentin Tarantino's cult classic movie
Pulp Fiction
shows Vincent and Jules in the front seat of the
car talking about France. Vincent, trying to demonstrate
his knowledge of French culture, turns to Jules and says,
“You know what they call a . . . . a . . . . a quarter pounder
with cheese in Paris?” Jules replies, “They don't call it a
quarter pounder with cheese?” Vincent, ever the expert,
explains in a few choice words that France uses the metric
system and that the French would not know what a quar-
ter pounder is. Then, he explains, “They call it a 'royale'
with cheese.” Jules, surprised, asks, “What do they call a
Big Mac?” Vincent explains, “Well a Big Mac is a Big Mac,
but they call it 'Le Big Mac.'”
This humorous exchange shows the juxtaposition of
two opposing forces in our globalized world: globalization
of culture and preservation of local and national culture.
Are the two contradictory, or can we have globalization
of restaurants, food, music, and culture while preserving
local languages?
Language is a fundamental element of local and
national culture. The French government has worked dil-
igently, even aggressively, to protect the French language,
dating back to 1635 and the creation of the Académie
Française, an institution charged with standardizing and
protecting the French language. Since the 1970s, diffu-
sion of globalized terms into France has posed an enor-
mous challenge for the Académie Française.
With the support of many French people, the French
government passed a law in 1975 banning the use of foreign
words in advertisements, television, and radio broadcasts,
and offi cial documents, unless no French equivalent could
be found. In 1992, France amended its constitution to make
Language and Culture
Language is one of the cornerstones of culture; it shapes
our very thoughts. We can use vast vocabularies to
describe new experiences, ideas, and feelings, or we can
create new words that represent these things. Who we
are as a culture, as a people, is reinforced and redefi ned
moment by moment through shared language. Language
refl ects where a culture has been, what a culture values,
even how people in a culture think, describe, and expe-
rience events.Perhaps the easiest way to understand the
role of language in culture is to examine people who have
experienced the loss of language under pressure from oth-
ers. During colonization, both abroad and within coun-
tries, colonizers commonly forced the colonized people
