Bantu tongues. Thus linguistic geography articulates both contemporary language
patterns and those of the past in many instances.
The geographic study of languages provides understanding of the dynamics of
cultural and political interaction between different ethnic groups. In such an inter-
action, the language of the politically dominant group frequently becomes the lan-
guage of the less-influential group, witha corresponding loss of usage of their
native tongue. This is a process calledassimilation, and has occurred many times
in history. A classic example is the loss of Native American languages after the
advent of European settlement, roughly in the years between 1600 and 1900.
Although estimates of the number of languages spoken in North America in
1600 vary, there is no question that dozens of indigenous languages and dialects
disappeared from the North American continent over the next three centuries. It
is generally accepted that there were at least 300 languages in use at the beginning
of European settlement, but by the end of the 20th century only 175 were still spo-
ken, and a large number of those were in danger of becoming extinct. Indigenous
peoples in the region abandoned their native speech for the dominant language
of English, resulting in a loss of their cultural history. Not only did the languages
die, but the songs, stories, and other elements of native culture also largely disap-
peared. Assimilation is by no means unique to the indigenous languages of North
America, or even to the period ofimperialism.
The language geographer Charles Withers has offered two theories concerning
how and why linguistic assimilation happens. The first theory is what Withers
termed thesocial morale model, in which the subordinate group progressively
Linguistic Geography 207Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
Two years after the initial voyage of Columbus to the New World, Portugal and Spain were
vying for possession of lands outside of Europe in both hemispheres. Although both were
Roman Catholic countries and neighbors, tensions arose over the conflicting and confusing
claims on territory made by explorers from both powers. In order to circumvent warfare
between the two Christian states, Pope Alexander VI decreed that all lands west of a merid-
ian located approximately 1,300 miles west of the Cape Verde islands would belong to Spain,
while lands to the east would lie within the realm of Portugal. The exact location of the line as
it cut through the land mass of South America was ill-defined, and Portugal was able to
expand the western border of its claim in what became the colony of Brazil. Through mutual
agreement between the courts at Lisbon and Madrid, the line was later shifted so Portugal
could lay claim to India. The treaty resulted in Spain receiving virtually no holdings in Africa,
althoughabouthalfofSouthAmericaandallofCentralAmericabelongedtotheSpanish.
A simple line on a map determined why an entire continent has a linguistic geography divided
between Spanish and Portuguese.