Introduction to the Global Mosaic of Language

Name: ______

INTRODUCTION TO THE GLOBAL MOSAIC OF LANGUAGE

ACTIVITY 1: 100 Eskimo Words for Snow:

1) Discuss the problem with saying there is an Eskimo language.

2) What is the origin of the word "Eskimo"?

3) Are there 100 words for snow in this particular language? Explain.

4)Through your own research, find out how many ethnic groups exist around that region.

ACTIVITY 2: What's in a Name? 5) Translate the following Chinese place names into English:

Chinese English Chinese English Cities Shanghai Sichuan Provinces Hunan Shanxi Rivers Chang Jiang Huang He Other Changbai Shan Zhonghua

6)What other Chinese dialects exist, other than Mandarin?

ACTIVITY 3: Britspeak: Same Language, Different Dialects

7) The homely lad went up the lift and into his lounge to have some bubble and squeak, aubergine, and biscuits for afters. 8) The berk was over the moon when the crumpet said she'd go with him to his flat until he realized she had a bun in the oven.

9) Create your own ("G-rated") sentence using "Britspeak".

ACTIVITY 4: The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy

10) Click on New York to see the county data. What county do you live in and what is the statistical breakdown?

11) Go back to the map of the U.S. and discuss any trends you find. Do you notice any linguistic islands?

12) Identify another word that has several other slang words associated with it. Hypothesize where in the U.S. the slang words are used.

ACTIVITY 5: The Great Esperanto Experiment

13) Select Basic Words and translate the following into Esperanto: Thank you What is your name? How are you? I do not understand English.

14) Now select Shopping/Dining and translate the following into Esperanto:

How much does this cost? Do you accept credit cards?, Cheers!; I would like to buy dessert.

15) Experiment and have some fun on your own. Do you ever envision a future with one universal language? Why or why not? What conditions would have to occur for this to become a reality