Primary Human Languages Improved Version

A linguistic map is a

thematic map A thematic map is a type of map that portrays the geographic pattern of a particular subject matter (theme) in a geographic area. This usually involves the use of map symbols to Geovisualization, visualize selected properties of geographic fe ...

showing the geographic distribution of the speakers of a

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

, or

isogloss An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistics, linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a ...

es of a

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

of the same language, or

language family A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...

. A collection of such maps is a linguistic atlas. The earliest such

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

was the ''Sprachatlas des Deutschen Reiches'' of

Georg Wenker Georg Wenker (January 25, 1852 – July 17, 1911) was a German linguist who began documenting German dialect geography during the late nineteenth century. He is considered a pioneer in this field and contributed several groundbreaking public ...

and

Ferdinand Wrede Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

, published beginning in 1888, followed by the '' Atlas Linguistique de la France'', of

Jules Gilliéron Jules Gilliéron (21 December 1854 – 26 April 1926) was a Swiss-French linguist and dialectologist Dialectology (from Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , '' -logia'') is the scientific study of dialects: subsets of languages. Though i ...

between 1902 and 1910, the ''Linguistischer Atlas des dacorumänischen Sprachgebietes'' published in 1909 by

Gustav Weigand Gustav Weigand (1 February 1860 – 8 July 1930) was a German linguist and specialist in Balkan languages, especially Romanian and Aromanian. He is known for his seminal contributions to the dialectology of the Romance languages of the Balkans ...

and the ''AIS - Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz'' of

Karl Jaberg Karl Jaberg (4 April 1877, in Langenthal – 30 May 1958, in Bern) was a Swiss linguist and dialectologist. He studied Romance philology at the University of Bern, and furthered his education in Paris (1900/01), where his influences included G ...

and

Jakob Jud Jakob Jud u:t(12 January 1882 in Wängi, Kanton Thurgau – 15 June 1952 in Seelisberg, Kanton Canton of Uri, Uri) was a Swiss people, Swiss Romance languages, Romance linguistics, linguist (Romance studies, Romanist). From 1922 to 1950 h ...

, published 1928–1940. The first linguistic atlas of the US was published by

Hans Kurath Hans Kurath (13 December 1891 – 2 January 1992) was an American linguistics, linguist of Austrian origin. He was full professor for English and Linguistics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. The many varieties of regional English language, ...

. The ''Linguistic Atlas of England'' was the result of the

Survey of English Dialects The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before local differe ...

, led by

Harold Orton Harold Orton (23 October 1898 – 7 March 1975) was a British dialectologist and professor of English language and Medieval Literature at the University of Leeds. Early life Orton was born in Byers Green, County Durham, on 23 October 1898 and ...

and

Eugen Dieth Eugen Dieth (18 November 1893, in Neukirch an der Thur – 24 May 1956, in Zollikon) was a Swiss linguist, phonetician and dialectologist. He is well known for his work in English and German phonetics, and for co-initiating the Survey of English ...

. The first computerised linguistic atlas was the

Atlas Linguarum Europae The ''Atlas Linguarum Europae'' (literally ''Atlas of the Languages of Europe'', ALE in acronym) is a linguistic atlas project launched in 1970 with the help of UNESCO, and published from 1975 to 2007. The ALE used its own phonetic transcription sy ...

, first published in 1975.

References

External links

General:
Linguistic mapping project by the LINGUIST ListBibliography of linguistic atlases
(by

Joachim Grzega Joachim Grzega (born 9 September 1971 in Treuchtlingen) is a German linguist. He studied English and French at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Paris-Sorbonne University and the University o ...

) *List of US-America
Linguistic Atlas Projects
German:
Digital Wenker-AtlasREDE SprachGIS
an interface to several German dialect atlases, including Wenker's
overview

Atlas der deutschen Alltagssprache
(University of Liege, University of Salzburg) French:
''Atlas Linguistique de la France''
at Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Tirol Italian:
Navigais - AIS digital navigable version
{{Authority control

Map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

See also

References

External links