Editing Language geography

{{Short description|Study of the geographic distribution of language(s)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}

[[Image:Linguistic Map of Justinian I's Empire c. 560.png|right|thumb|300px|A map of the language divisions within [[Justinian I]]'s [[Byzantine Empire]] {{legend|#FFB4B4|Greek}}{{legend|#FFE5B4|Greek and native}}{{legend|#B4C0FF|Latin}}{{legend|#B4E9FF|Latin and native}}{{legend|#FFB4F9|Aramaic}}{{legend|#BBFFB4|Coptic}}{{legend|#EEFFB4|Caucasian and Armenian}}]]

'''Language geography''' is the branch of [[human geography]] that studies the geographic distribution of language(s) or its constituent elements. '''Linguistic geography''' can also refer to studies of how people talk about the landscape. For example, [[toponymy]] is the study of place names.<ref name="Toponymy">{{cite book|title=Toponymy : the lore, laws, and language of geographical names|last1=Kadmon|first1=Naftali|date=2000|publisher=Vantage Press|isbn=0533135311|edition=1st|location=New York}}</ref> Landscape ethnoecology, also known as ethnophysiography, is the study of landscape ontologies and how they are expressed in language.<ref>{{cite book|title=Landscape Ethnoecology: Concepts of Biotic and Physical Space|date=2012|publisher=Berghahn Books|editor1-last=Johnson|editor1-first=Leslie Main|location=New York|editor2-last=Hunn|editor2-first=Eugene S.}}</ref>

There are two principal fields of study within the geography of language:

#''geography of languages'', which deals with the distribution through history and space of languages,<ref>Delgado de Carvalho, C.M. (1962). ''The geography of languages''. In Wagner, P.L.; Mikesell, M.W. ''Readings in cultural geography.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 75–93.</ref> and/or is concerned with 'the analysis of the distribution patterns and spatial structures of languages in contact'.<ref>Williams, C.H. (1980). "Language contact and language change in Wales, 1901–1971: a study in historical geolinguistics". ''[[Welsh History Review]]'' 10, 207–238.</ref>

# ''[[geolinguistics]]'' being, when used as a sub-discipline of geography, the study of the 'political, economic and cultural processes that affect the status and distribution of languages'.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Gunnemark|first=Erik|author-link=Erik V. Gunnemark|year=1991|title=What is geolinguistics ?|journal=Geolinguistics, Journal of the American Society of Geolinguistics.|publisher=American Society of Geolinguistics|volume=17|page=12|issn=0190-4671}}</ref> When perceived as a sub-discipline of linguistics that incorporates contact linguistics, one definition appearing has been 'the study of languages and dialects in contact and in conflict with various societal, economic, ideological, political and other contemporary trends with regard to a particular geographic location and on a planetary scale'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://politlinguist.ru/announcements/17.doc|title=International Conference on multilingual perspectives in geolinguistics, April 11, 2015}}</ref>

Various other terms and subdisciplines have been suggested, but none gained much currency,<ref name="Dict">Withers, Charles W.J. [1981] (1993). Johnson, R.J. ''The Dictionary of Human Geography'', Gregory, Derek; Smith, David M., Second edition, Oxford: Blackwell, 252–3.</ref> including:

* ''linguistic geography'',<ref>Dell'Aquila, V. (1997). ''[https://www.academia.edu/2013163/Mapping_the_languages_of_Europe Mapping the languages of Europe]'' in Herberts K., Laurén C., Laurén U, Strömann S. (Eds.): "Flerspråkighetens dimensioner. Individ, familj och samhälle", Vaasan Yliopiston Julkaisuja: Vaasa/Vasa, 103–131.</ref> which deals with regional linguistic variations within languages,<ref>Pei, M. (1966). ''Glossary of linguistic terminology''. New York: John Wiley.</ref><ref>Trudgill, P. (1974). ''Linguistic change and diffusion: description and explanation in sociolinguistic dialect geography.'' Language in Society 3:2, 215–46.</ref><ref name="Trud3">Trudgill, P. (1983). ''On dialect: social and geographical perspectives.'' Oxford: Basil Blackwell; New York: New York University Press.</ref><ref name="Trud2">Trudgill, P. (1975). ''Linguistic geography and geographical linguistics.'' Progress in Geography 7, 227–52</ref><ref name="Dict" /> also called '''dialect geography''', which some consider a subdivision of geolinguistics<ref name=":0" />

Many studies in what is now called contact linguistics have researched the effect of [[language contact]],<ref>Weinrich, U. (1974). ''Languages in contact''. The Hague: Mouton.</ref> as the languages or dialects (varieties) of peoples have interacted.<ref name=Dict/> This territorial expansion of language groups has usually resulted in the overlaying of languages upon existing speech areas, rather than the replacement of one language by another. For example, after the [[Norman Conquest of England]], [[Old French]] became the language of the aristocracy but [[Middle English]] remained the language of a majority of the population.<ref>Burchfield, Robert [1985] (2003). ''The English Language'', New York: Oxford University Press, 14.</ref>

Linguistic geography, as a field, is dominated by [[Linguistics|linguists]] rather than [[geographer]]s.<ref name=Trud3/> [[Charles W. J. Withers]] describes the difference as resulting from a focus on "elements of language, and only then with their geographical or social variation, as opposed to investigation of the processes making for change in the extent of language areas."<ref name=Dict/> [[Peter Trudgill]] says, "linguistic geography has been geographical only in the sense that it has been concerned with the spatial distribution of linguistic phenomena."<ref name=Trud2/> Greater emphasis has been laid upon explanation rather than mere description of the patterns of linguistic change.<ref name=Trud3/><ref name=Dict/> That move has paralleled similar concerns in [[geography]] and language studies.<ref>Withers, C.W.J. (1984). ''Gaelic in Scotland 1698–1981: the geographical history of a language.'' Edinburgh: John Donald; Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press.</ref>

Some studies have paid attention to the social use<ref>Hult, F.M. (2009). Language ecology and linguistic landscape analysis. In E. Shohamy & D. Gorter (Eds.), ''Linguistic landscape: Expanding the scenery'' (pp. 88–104). London: Routledge.</ref> of language and to variations in dialect within languages in regard to [[social class]] or occupation.<ref>Giglioli, P.P. (1972). ''Language and social context''. Harmondsworth: Penguin.</ref> Regarding such variations, lexicographer [[Robert Burchfield]] notes that their nature "is a matter of perpetual discussion and disagreement" and notes that "most professional linguistic scholars regard it as axiomatic that all varieties of English have a sufficiently large vocabulary for the expression of all the distinctions that are important in the society using it." He contrasts this with the view of the historian [[John Vincent (historian)|John Vincent]], who regards such a view as

Burchfield concludes, "Resolution of such opposite views is not possible.... future of dialect studies and the study of class-marked distinctions are likely to be of considerable interest to everyone."<ref>Burchfield, Robert [1985] (2003). ''The English Language'', New York: Oxford University Press, 128–130.</ref>

In [[England]], linguistic geography has traditionally focused upon rural English, rather than urban English.<ref>In 1985, one could still say, "We still know far more about the distribution of ''byre/shippon/mistall/cow-stable/cow-house/cow-shed/neat-house/beast-house'' for 'cow-shed' than we do about urban synonyms for pedestrian crossings, lollipop men, machines used to wash cars, forecourts of petrol stations, bollards, sleeping policemen, pay-out desks, supermarket trolleys, traffic wardens, telephone booths and hundreds of other items found in every city in the United Kingdom." Burchfield, Robert [1985] (2003). ''The English Language'', New York: Oxford University Press, 128.</ref> A common production of linguistic investigators of dialects is the shaded and dotted map showing to show where one linguistic feature ends and another begins or overlaps. Various compilations of these maps for England have been issued over the years, including Joseph Wright's ''English Dialect Dictionary'' (1896–1905), the ''[[Survey of English Dialects]]'' (1962–8), and ''The Linguistic Atlas of England'' (1978).<ref>Burchfield, Robert [1985] (2003). ''The English Language'', New York: Oxford University Press, 125.</ref>

Most [[geolinguistic organizations]] identify themselves as associations of linguists rather than of geographers. This includes the two oldest which both date to 1965 with "Amici Linguarum" (language friends) being founded by [[Erik V. Gunnemark]] and The American Society of Geolinguistics by [[Mario A. Pei]]. The research in [[geolinguistics]] which these organizations and others, which are more geographically oriented, promote is often interdisciplinary, being at times simultaneously both linguistic and geographic, and also being at times linked to other sub-disciplines of linguistics as well as going beyond linguistics to connect to sociology, anthropology, ethnology, history, demographics, political science, studies of cognition and communication, etc.

{{Reflist}}

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20200803195616/https://geolinguistics.info/ American Society of Geolinguistics]

{{Geographical distribution of languages}}