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The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts - The Washington Post

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The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts - The Washington Post

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These seven maps and charts, visualized by The Washington Post, will help you understand how diverse other parts of the world are in terms of languages.
1. Some continents have more languages than others

Not all continents are equally diverse in the number of spoken languages. Whereas Asia leads the statistics with 2,301 languages, Africa follows closely with 2,138.

There are about 1,300 languages in the Pacific, and 1,064 in South and North America. Europe, despite its many nation-states, is at the bottom of the pack with just 286.
2. These are some of the languages with the most native speakers

Chinese has more native speakers than any other language, followed by Hindi and Urdu, which have the same linguistic origins in northern India. English comes next with 527 million native speakers. Arabic is used by nearly 100 million more native speakers than Spanish.

The numbers are fascinating because they reflect the fact that two-thirds of the world's population share only 12 native languages. Those numbers were recently published by the University of Düsseldorf's Ulrich Ammon, who conducted a 15-year-long study.

His numbers are surprising, compared with the ones featured in the CIA's Factbook. According to the CIA, Spanish is spoken by 4.85 percent of the world's population and its use is even more widespread than English, which is spoken by 4.83 percent. However, the CIA numbers include only first native languages. Many people are bilingual, and whereas Spanish might be their first native language, English could be their second one. Ammon counts both first and second native language speakers.

The number for Portuguese is smaller than other sources suggest because not all Brazilians are native speakers. Some might also be surprised that Korean or Punjabi do not show up on the list: Indeed, both are nearly as widely spoken as Italian.
3. This map shows the countries with the most and least diversity of languages
As our visualization of Greenberg's diversity index shows, the United States is not as linguistically diverse as many other nations.

If you randomly select two people in Cameroon, for instance, there is a 97 percent likelihood that they will have different mother tongues. In the United States, there is only a 33 percent likelihood that this is going to happen. You can click on the various countries shown in the map above to find out how the United States compares with other countries.
4. Many popular languages are spoken in more than just one country

The reason why English, French and Spanish are among the world's most widespread languages has its roots in the imperial past of the nations where they originate.
5. English is widely used as an official language
However, whether a country has English as its official language says little about how its citizens really communicate with one another. In some of the nations highlighted above, only a tiny minority learned English as a native language.
6. Nevertheless, most languages are spoken only by a handful of people. That's why about half of the world's languages will disappear by the end of the century

About 3 percent of the world's population accounts for 96 percent of all languages spoken today. Out of all languages in the world, 2,000 have fewer than 1,000 native speakers.

Hence, according to UNESCO estimates, which we visualized in the map above, about half of the world's spoken languages will disappear by the end of the century. You can click on the map to enlarge it.

Linguistic extinction will hit some countries and regions harder than others. In the United States, endangered languages are primarily located along the West coast, as well as in reservations of indigenous people in the Midwest.

Globally,the Amazon rain forest, sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, Australia and Southeast Asia are about to lose the most languages.
7. This chart shows how many people learn a language all over the world

Whereas English lags behind in the number of native speakers, it is by far the world's most commonly studied language. Overall, more people learn English than French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, German and Chinese combined.

Some languages have only recently gained attention: The number of U.S. colleges that teach Chinese has risen by 110 percent between 1990 and 2013, making the language more accessible. During the same time, the number of offered Russian college courses decreased by 30 percent.

Some language skills could be more rewarding than others. If you are able to speak German, Americans could earn $128,000 extra throughout their career, according to MIT scientist Albert Saiz. At least financially, German is worth twice as much as French and nearly three times as much as Spanish, for instance.
Other posts on WorldViews:
30 fake maps that explain the world These maps show world's least religious countries How English soccer teams rule the world Other visualizations you might be interested in: The second most spoken languages around the world (Olivet Nazarene University/ Digital Third Coast)

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languages; maps; charts; natives; courses; education;

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The world's languages, in 7 maps and charts

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These seven maps and charts, visualized by The Washington Post, will help you understand how diverse other parts of the world are in terms of languages. 1. Some continents have more languages than others Not all continents are equally diverse in the number of spoken languages.

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The Indo-European language family includes most of the languages of Europe as well as many languages in Asia. There is a long research tradition that has shown, though careful historical comparison, that languages spanning a huge linguistic and geographical range, from French to Greek to Russian to Hindi to Persian, are all related to each other and sprung from a common source, Proto-Indo-European. One of the techniques for studying the relationship of the different languages to each other is to look at the similarities between individual words and work out the sound changes that led from one language to the next.

This diagram, submitted to Reddit by user IronChestplate1, shows the word for two in various Indo-European languages. (The "proto" versions, marked with an asterisk, are hypothesized forms, built by working backward from historical evidence.) The languages cluster around certain common features, but the words are all strikingly similar, especially when you consider the words for two in languages outside the Indo-European family: iki (Turkish), èjì (Yoruba), ni (Japanese), kaksi (Finnish), etc. There are many possible forms two could take, but in this particular group of languages it is extremely limited. What are the chances of that happening by accident? Once you see it laid out like this, it doesn't take much to put *dwóh and *dwóh together.

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The Indo-European language family includes most of the languages of Europe as well as many languages in Asia. There is a long research tradition that has shown, though careful historical comparison, that languages spanning a huge linguistic and geographical range, from French to Greek to Russian to Hindi to Persian, are all related to each other and sprung from a common source, Proto-Indo-European.

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1.1 Hunter-Gatherer Communities & the Old Stone Age - BWMS 6th Grade Social Studies Early Humans to the Age of Explorations

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1.1 Hunter-Gatherer Communities & the Old Stone Age - BWMS 6th Grade Social Studies Early Humans to the Age of Explorations

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BWMS 6th Grade Social Studies  Early Humans to the Age of Explorations

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1.1 Hunter-Gatherer Communities & the Old Stone Age

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Fire was also a tool used by early humans. The first fire was probably an accident created by an act of nature, probably lightening. Early humans realized that fire could be created by rubbing...

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1.1 Hunter-Gatherer Communities & the Old Stone Age - BWMS 6th Grade Social Studies Early Humans to the Age of Explorations

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1.1 Hunter-Gatherer Communities & the Old Stone Age - BWMS 6th Grade Social Studies Early Humans to the Age of Explorations

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BWMS 6th Grade Social Studies  Early Humans to the Age of Explorations

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1.1 Hunter-Gatherer Communities & the Old Stone Age

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Fire was also a tool used by early humans. The first fire was probably an accident created by an act of nature, probably lightening. Early humans realized that fire could be created by rubbing...

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Hunter-Gatherers - 6th Grade Social Studies

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Hunter-Gatherers - 6th Grade Social Studies

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Describe the skills and beliefs that early modern humans developed during the Old Stone Age. Analyze why the beginning of farming is considered the start. - ppt download

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Describe the skills and beliefs that early modern humans developed during the Old Stone Age. Analyze why the beginning of farming is considered the start. - ppt download

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1.2 turning point: the neolithic revolution

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1.2 Turning Point: The Neolithic Revolution - ppt video online download

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Objectives Describe the skills and beliefs that early modern humans developed during the Old Stone Age. Analyze why the beginning of farming is considered the start of the New Stone Age and Neolithic Revolution. Explain how the Neolithic Revolution dramatically changed the way people lived.

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The people of the New Stone Age also learned how to train animals to be useful to humans. The training of crops and animals is called domestication. No one is sure which animal was the first to be domesticated by humans. At one time, all animals were wild.

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Agriculture and Farming in Stone Age ~ History for Kids

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Agriculture and Farming in Stone Age ~ History for Kids

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Effects of Change
Agriculture, the raising of domesticated plants and animals, changed human societies forever. Agriculture provided a reliable food source. In fact, agriculture allowed farmers to grow more food than they needed. This extra amount could be traded for other resources the farmers needed or wanted.

As early people turned to agriculture, the size of their communities began to grow. With more food available, more people could live in one place.

As the size of societies increased, not everyone needed to spend the day farming. Because of this, a division of labor began. Different members of a society were able to do different tasks based on their abilities and the group's needs. Some people still farmed, but others made tools, sewed hides for clothing, or built shelters. Still others served as leaders.

The leaders of farming societies made important decisions for the community. Duties may have included deciding what crops to plant, where to plant them, and who would care for them. Leaders may have also been responsible for deciding how much food would be used at certain times. Leaders might have also come up with ways to protect their community against the dangers of nature or other people.

One common means of protection was the building of walls. Some societies built walls around their villages to prevent attacks from other societies. Others built walls to keep floodwaters from reaching their settlements. One of the oldest known walled villages was built at a site in southwestern Asia known today as Jericho. The people lived in mud-brick huts grouped inside stone walls. The village walls were 20 feet (6.1 m) high and 6 feet (1.8 m) thick.

The ruins of another early farming community can be found in present-day Turkey. This community is known today as Catal Huyuk (chat"AHL hoo"YOOK). As many as 6,000 people lived side by side in ancient Qatal Huyuk. The community of Qatal Hiiyiik looked more like a sprawling apartment complex than a village. Its people built mud houses right next to each other. They came into and left their homes through holes in the roof. To reach the holes, residents used ladders. Outside the village in every direction lay the farmers' fields.

Agriculture made more food available, but it also brought new concerns. Farmers faced threats to their crops such as insects, plant disease, and flooding. When crops failed for any reason, the whole community suffered. In addition, the need for fertile soil on which to grow crops caused some fights over land.

Sometimes the ways in which early people farmed had consequences for their environment, or surroundings. For example, many farmers cleared land for crops by cutting and burning the wild plants that grew there. Although new crops could be grown, wild plants that supported herds of wild animals were lost. Also, after years of growing the same crops, the land was no longer fertile. It could not be used for a period of time. Many early societies were often unaware of such consequences. It took farming communities a long time to learn the best ways to farm and to raise livestock.

What were some advantages and disadvantages of agriculture?

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Effects of Change Agriculture, the raising of domesticated plants and animals, changed human societies forever. Agriculture provided a reliable food source. In fact, agriculture allowed farmers to grow more food than they needed. This extra amount could be traded for other resources the farmers needed or wanted.

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CSI History: The Iceman Mystery - ActiveHistory

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CSI History: The Iceman Mystery - ActiveHistory

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This project was developed as a joint study unit between the Head of History (@russeltarr) and the Head of Geography (@MattPodbury) at the International School of Toulouse.
Its purpose is to provide an intensive and exciting induction programme to Year 7 students and to highlight links between Geography and History from the outset.

The unit follows the format of the "History Mysteries" lessons on ActiveHistory.

These are designed as stand-alone projects which each last 3-4 hours.

Through engaging historical topics, they teach skills of problem formulation, deductive reasoning, independent research, groupwork and structured writing.

There is a standard Teacher lesson plan and Student record sheet / markscheme for each activity.

My students complete at least one "History Mystery" project each year. Because the mark scheme stays the same, they provide a particularly useful way of measuring student progress. More importantly, they start each year's studies with a sharp and interesting focus.

How it works

Stage 1: The Roleplay

The first part of the History Mystery consists of a roleplay element led by the teacher, usually involving some props. This is deliberately designed to pique the curiosity of the students. The role card for the iceman mystery looks like this:

Based on this initial introductory roleplay, the class is then invited to come up with a series of preliminary questions for investigation (e.g. " Who is this?", " Why did they...?", " When did...?", " What is...?", " Where are we?"). In the case of the iceman mystery, the questions that students came up with as a starting point included the following:

Are we at the scene of a murder, or an accident?

How did this person die?

Was this person pushed or did they jump?

Was the victim a child (the body seems very small)?

What sort of place could this be associated with the howling wind sound effect?

Are we high up? On a balcony? In the forest? On a rooftop?

Where are we? Inside or outside?

Stage 2: The Images

The next part of the investigation involves showing the students a series of images on the whiteboard. Each image helps the students to formulate fresh questions, amend existing ones or even form some provisional answers.

The images we use in the iceman mystery can be downloaded as a .zip file. They are shown below too, along with the sorts of questions which students came up with:

Stage 3: Deciding upon the 5 Key Questions

On scrap paper, students work individually to identify what they think are the five "Big Questions" that require further investigation.
NOTE: some of these questions may be taken directly from the list; it is more likely though that students will form broader questions which aim to encompass several "mini-questions" from the list.
The teacher then leads a classroom discussion to gather a list of 'big questions' and to narrow these down to what we consider to be the most popular five questions overall.
The students then write these five questions down in their sheets. They should also write a provisional answer against each one to reflect what they think is currently the most likely answer.
During this times the teacher can be cutting up the evidence slips ready for the next part of the investigation (see below).

Stage 4: The Information Slips

This question formulation / resolution process then continues with a series of information slips shared amongst the class. One slip is handed out to each student and they use this to come up with a fresh question or (even better) to provide a possible answer to one of the "five big questions".

There are lots of these slips, so students who work more quickly than others can be given a second or even a third slip. Once all the slips have been handed out and analysed in this way, the students are put into groups to compare their findings.

I then 'jigsaw' the groups after this feedback phase: in other words, I create a new set of groups, with each new group containing one member from each of the old groups. The feedback phase is then repeated. In this way, every single slip has the opportunity to be discussed. This is usually a very lively phase and contains quite a few 'Eureka!' moments.

Stage 5: Individual research and write-up phase

Finally, each student produces a written report which is graded against a standardised markscheme.

Specific credit is given to students who demonstrate evidence of independent research: to this end, the teacher could construct a QR Treasure Hunt to accompany the exercise which students could complete at breaktimes. Here is an case study of a QR Treasure Hunt for the Franklin Expedition Mystery.

At the International School of Toulouse, we were lucky enough to have a Google Hangout Video Conference with Alan @geoblogs Parkinson, author of a book on the Iceman. This allowed the students to ask questions directly of an expert witness and added another great dimension to the experience!

Moreover, dedicated Geography lessons in the same week gave a fresh perspective on the entire mystery. Matt @MattPodbury Podbury has written extensively about this dimension of the Mystery on this blogpost.

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CSI History: The Iceman Mystery: ActiveHistory.co.uk

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This project was developed as a joint study unit between the Head of History (@russeltarr) and the Head of Geography (@MattPodbury) at the International School of Toulouse. Its purpose is to provide an intensive and exciting induction programme to Year 7 students and to highlight links between Geography and History from the outset.