5- Multilingualism

Question 1

Vitality

Answer 1

Demographic, social and institutional strength of a language and its speakers.

Question 2

Disglossia

Answer 2

Classically defined as a situation where two closely related languages are used in a speech community.
One for High (H) functions and one for Low (L) functions. The situation is supposed to be relatively stable and the languages/varieties remain distinct.
Now often extended to refer to any two languages (even typological unrelated ones) that have this kind of social and functional distribution.

Question 3

Invisible language

Answer 3

A language variety that, because of its social stigma, is not written down becomes invisible to contemporary speakers/signers and future readers/signers.

Question 4

Implied language policies

Answer 4

The unspoken attitudes people hold about languages, where they should be used, by who and for what purposes. The practices that give substance to those attitudes.

Question 5

Overt language policies

Answer 5

Principles guiding the use and recognition of languages in a formal, institutional or national context.

Question 6

National language

Answer 6

A linguistic variety that has been chosen by a nation as the language expressing or representing national identity.

Question 7

Official language

Answer 7

A linguistic variety that has been designated as the medium for all the official, government business.
There is usually a to have legal and public services provided in an official language, and an obligation on state or regional authorities to satisfy this right.

Question 8

Ethnolonguistic vitality

Answer 8

A measure of the strength and libeliness of a language, usually a good indicator of the likelihood that it will gradually die out or continue to be used as a living language of a community.
Measured in terms of demographic, social and institutional support.

Question 9

Code switching

Answer 9

In its most specific sense, the alternation between varieties, or codes across sentences or clause boundaries.
Often used as a cover term including code mixing as well.

Question 10

Code mixing

Answer 10

It generally refers to alternations between varieties, or codes, within a clause or a phrase.
Often elicits more strongly negative evaluations than alternations or code switching across clauses.

Question 11

Domain

Answer 11

The social and physical setting in which speakers find themselves.

Question 12

Situation

Answer 12

A more idiosyncratic and personalized view of the context or situation of language use.

Question 13

Passive vs active knowladge

Answer 13

Passive knowledge: The ability to understand, but not speak, a language.
Active knowledge: Knowledge of the linguistic variety that includes the ability to produce and use the variety, and not only understand it.

Question 14

Translanguaging

Answer 14

A somewhat fluid term favored over code switching by researchers who argue that multilingual speakers draw from linguistic features that are socially constructed as belonging to two or more languages.

Question 15

Speech levels

Answer 15

Replacement of vocabulary with sometimes radically different forms in the different styles associated with different social groups or castes.

Question 16

Caste systems

Answer 16

Relatively fixed social groups.

A person is usually born into a particular caste and the possibilities for movement out of it are limited.