APHG26 - AP Human Geography - Unit 3 - Effects of diffusion
The language with more learners than owners
Last bet, settled
Yesterday (the song that got here in a day): “Baby Shark” is at about 15–16 billion views — roughly twice the population of Earth.
Read the passage and study the figures. Pick the best answer for 1–5 (one letter each). Write 2–3 sentences for 6.
When ideas spread this fast, two opposite things happen at once, and geographers have a word for each. Cultural convergence is the world getting more alike: the same phones, the same brands, the same songs, and one language that a pilot in Brazil uses to talk to a tower in Japan. That language is English, and it has become a lingua franca — a common language used by people who do not share a native one. Look at Figure 1: three out of four people who speak English learned it, which means most conversations in English on Earth today happen between two people for whom it is not their first language. Cultural divergence is the opposite pull: as the world converges, groups work harder to stay distinct — reviving a language, guarding a dress, a food, a faith. Both are real, and both are happening to you. The phone in your pocket is convergence. The accent you use at home and switch off at school is divergence. A geographer would say the question of the century is not which one wins. It is what gets lost and kept while they fight.
Figure 1
English speakers in the world (Ethnologue, 2024, approximate).
| People | Share of all English speakers | |
|---|---|---|
| Native speakers (first language) | about 380 million | about 25% |
| Learned it as a second language | about 1.1 billion | about 75% |
| Total | about 1.5 billion |
Figure 2
Convergence and divergence, side by side.
| Convergence (more alike) | Divergence (more distinct) |
|---|---|
| One phone design on every continent | Welsh, Hawaiian, and Choctaw language revival programs |
| English in cockpits, labs, and business | Laws requiring French on signs in Quebec |
| Fast-food chains in 100+ countries | “Slow food” movements protecting local dishes |
| Global pop charts | K-pop, Afrobeats, regional Mexican — local sounds going global while staying local |
Make your bet
English is the most-spoken language on Earth when you count learners. Bet: what language has the most NATIVE speakers — and roughly how many?
Questions 1–5
1. As used in the passage, a lingua franca is:
A. the native language of France.
B. a common language used by people who do not share a native one.
C. the oldest language in the world.
D. a language with no native speakers.
2. According to the passage, most conversations in English today happen between:
A. two native speakers.
B. pilots only.
C. an American and a Briton.
D. two people for whom English is not a first language.
3. The passage gives the accent you “use at home and switch off at school” as an example of:
A. convergence.
B. a lingua franca.
C. divergence.
D. time-space compression.
4. According to Figure 1, about what share of English speakers learned it as a second language?
A. 75%
B. 50%
C. 25%
D. 100%
5. Based on Figure 2, which pair correctly matches an example to its type?
A. Fast-food chains — divergence
B. Choctaw language revival — convergence
C. One phone design — divergence
D. French-sign laws in Quebec — divergence
Question 6
6. Go deeper. The passage says the question is “what gets lost and kept while they fight.” Name one thing about your own place that you would fight to keep as the world converges — and one thing you would be glad to see go.
On the form: enter the code, your bet, your letters for 1–5 in ACT item 1–5, and question 6 in Go deeper.