LANGUAGE AND LINGUISTICS: RESOURCES:
Languages of the World


Languages of the World
National Virtual Translation Center
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/index.html>


"Language plays a unique role in capturing the breadth of human
diversity. We are constantly amazed by the variety of human thought,
culture, society, and literature expressed in many thousands of languages
around the world. We can find out what people think only through their
language. We can find out what they thought in the past only if we read
their written records. We can tell future generations about ourselves
only if we speak or write to them. If we want other civilizations in
space to learn about us we send them messages in dozens of our planet's
six thousand languages.

The main purpose of this website is to provide information about the
language families of the world and their most important and populous
members, including their history, status, their linguistic
characteristics, and their writing in as simple and concise a way as
possible. We base this website on the belief that all languages have
evolved from the need of human beings to express their thoughts, beliefs,
and desires, that all languages meet the social, psychological, and
survival needs of people who use them. In this sense, all languages, no
matter how small and remote, are equal. All equally deserve study because
all of them provide valuable insights into human nature."


About Language
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/aboutLanguage.html>

Web Page Contents

About Language


Language Origins - When did humans develop language? Are the origins of
language lost in the mist of time, or does science provide us with some
clues as to when, how, and why this ability appeared in humans?
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/origins.html>

The Range of World Languages -As you look at the map of the continents,
imagine that by some estimates there are roughly 6,800 languages spoken on
this planet. 96% of them are spoken by a mere 4% of the worlds population.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/worldlanguages.htm>


Language Families - In some cases, it is easier than in other cases.
Let's look at the Romance languages. We know that Italian, for instance,
is a descendant of Latin, a language that was spoken in Italy two thousand
years ago, and one which left a great number of written documents.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/languageFamilies.htm>


Endangered Languages - Endangered languages are languages that are on the
brink of extinction, much like endangered species of plants or animals.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/endangered.html>


Writing Systems- Writing may have evolved independently at different
times in different parts of the world, although some languages also
borrowed their orthography from other languages.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/writingsystems.htm>


International Languages- The original official languages of the UN were
English, Chinese, French, and Russian, the languages of the permanent
members of the Security Council. The choice was largely political.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/internationalLanguages.htm>


Internet Languages- More and more users are plugging into the Internet
worldwide. The WWW is no longer the exclusive domain of English speakers.
So what are the other popular languages of the Internet, besides English?
Here are some interesting facts.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/internetLanguages.htm>


Languages Spoken in the US - You might be surprised to know that for more
than 200 years, Americans have gotten by without declaring English their
official language.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/USlanguages.html>



Language Study
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/languageStudy.html>


Contents of this web page.


Foreign Languages in US schools and colleges - Only 9% of Americans can
speak their native language plus another language fluently, as opposed to
53% of Europeans. How can this happen?
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/USschoollanguages.htm>



Critical Languages - The Intelligence Community (IC) needs individuals
who are proficient in reading, writing, and/or speaking one or more of the
following languages...
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/criticalLanguages.html>



Why Study a Foreign Language - There are many reasons for studying a
foreign language including academic, professional, and personal.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/WhystudyFL.htm>


Foreign Language Careers - The list of careers in which knowledge of a
foreign language is either an asset or a requirement is very long. Below
is a partial list of occupations in which knowledge of a foreign language
is one of the qualifications.
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/languageCareers.htm>



Learning Expectations - People often ask: "How long will it take me to
become proficient in ...?"
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/learningExpectations.html>


Speaking Self Assessment- To get a general idea of your level, choose
only one of the following descriptions that most closely matches your
speaking ability in the foreign language?
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/november/speakingSelfAssessment.htm>




Language Listing
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/languageList.html>

Content Sample from Language Page Linked from This Web Page List of
Languages


Haitian Creole (Kreyol)
Byenvini! "welcome"
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/january2005/haitiancreole.html>


Haitian Creole (Kreyl) is spoken in Haiti by all of its 7.5 million
people. It is also spoken in Canada, the United States, France, and other
Caribbean nations, including the neighboring Dominican Republic, Cuba, and
the Bahamas. It is based on French and on African languages spoken by
slaves brought from West Africa to work on plantations. It is often
incorrectly described as a French dialect or as "broken French." In fact,
it is a language in its own right with its own pronunciation, grammar,
vocabulary, and pragmatics.

Kreyl has three main dialects, and it is not uncommon for Haitians to
speak more than one of them:

the Northern dialect, spoken in Cap-Haitien, the second largest Haitian
city;
the Center dialect, spoken in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, the
capital of Haiti;
the Southern dialect spoken in the area of Cayes, an important city in the
South of Haiti.

Even though Kreyl is a distinct language spoken by all of Haiti's
citizens, it suffers from a negative comparison to French as a result of
colonial legacy. Even after Haiti became independent from France in 1804,
French continued to be the prestige language of government and of power.
Even though Kreyl has increased in status and was recognized in 1961 as
Haiti's official language along with French, it has less prestige than
French that continues to provide access to education and careers. Not
surprisingly, French is more likely to be spoken by the urban elite that
constitutes about 8-10% of Haiti's population. Many Haitians identify
themselves as French speakers when they are not truly fluent in the
language. In addition, urban French-based schools have been privileged
over rural Kreyl-based schools.


Read more at the URL immediately above including links to these
additional related pages with content regarding this language.

Introduction
Structure
Writing
Resources

Resources cited from this government produced website for this language
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/january2005/hawaiiancreole.html#reso>

Da Kine Dictionary (to order hard copy)
Pidgin to da max hana hou (to order hard copy)
e-Hawaii's Searchable Pidgin English Dictionary
Wikipedia article on Hawai'ian Pidgin

On the web page immediately above, these are hyperlinks to these sites
about this language.



Interactive Language Map
<http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/languageMap.html>


This website is certainly worth talking about.


===============================


Of possible interest to some:

This is a new and greatly expanded version of this subject guide.


General Internet & Print Resources
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/20309>


RELO Resources
Interactive Activities for Language Instruction
Embassy of the United States : Manama / Bahrain
<http://manama.usembassy.gov/bahrain/interactive_activities.html>


Viewing Film and Television as Whole Language Instruction
Richard H. Fehlman
The English Journal, Vol. 85, No. 2 (Feb., 1996), pp. 43-50


Dialog on Language Instruction
Editor
Lidia Woytak
Copyeditor
Joseph Morgan
1999
Volume 13 Numbers 1 & 2
Defense Language Institute
Foreign Language Center
and
Presidio of Monterey
<http://www.dliflc.edu/academics/
academic_materials/dli/DLIissues/DLI_v13.pdf>

A shorter URL for the above link:

<http://tinyurl.com/2dl8d8>


Tag info: German Language
Includes: German Language, Deutsch (Sprache), deutsche Sprache,
German-language, language - German, language: German, language:german
(what?)
Tag and its aliases used 1,623 times by 277 users.
Using the tag German Language
Library Thing
<http://www.librarything.com/tag/German+Language>



WEBBIB0708



Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
jwne@...
Net-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold>
<http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html>
<http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en>
<http://net-gold.jiglu.com/>
General Internet & Print Resources
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Net-Gold/message/20309>
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html>
Educator-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/>
K12ADMINLIFE
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/>
Nina Dillard's Photographs
<http://homepage.mac.com/neemers1/PhotoAlbum3.html>
Nina Dillard's Photographs on Net-Gold
<http://tinyurl.com/36qd2o>
Net-Gold Membership Required to View Photos