6. Language Flashcards
language
is a set of sounds and symbols that is used for communication. language is also an integral part of culture, reflecting and shaping it
mutual intelligibility
two people can understand each other when speaking
standard language
published, widely distributed, and purposely taught
dialects
variants of a standard language along regional or ethnic lines
syntax
way words are put together to form phrases
cadence
rhythm of speech
dialect chains
dialects nearest to each other geographically will be the most similar (greater spatial interaction), but as you travel across space, the dialects become less intelligible to each other because less interaction occurs
isogloss
geographic boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs, but such a boundary is rarely a simple line
language families
each family encompasses multiple languages that have a shared but fairly distant origin
subfamilies
(divisions within a language family) where the commonalities are more definite and their orgin is more recent
cognate
a word that has the same linguistic derivation as another word
Proto-Indo-European
1st major linguistic hypothesis, proposing the existence of an ancestral Indo-European language…which is this one
language divergence
occurs when spatial interaction among speakers of a language breaks down and the language fragments first into dialects and then into discrete tongues
backward reconstruction
tracking shifting consonants and cognates back in an effort to reconstruct elements of a prior common language
language convergence
collapse of 2 languages into one
extinct language
occurs when all descendants perish or when descendants choose to use another language, abandoning the language of their ancestors
conquest theory
holds that early speakers of Proto-Indo-European spread from east to west on horseback, overpowering earlier inhabitants and beginning the diffusion and differentiation of Indo-European tongues
agricultural theory
proposes that Proto-Indo-European spread with the diffusion of agriculture
romance languages
(french, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Portuguese) lie in the areas of Europe that were once controlled by the Roman Empire
germanic languages
(English, German, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish) reflect the expansion of peoples out of Northern Europe to the west and south
Slavic languages
(Russian, polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Slovenian, Serbo-Croatian, and Bulgarian) developed as Slavic people migrated from a base in present day Ukraine close to 2000 years ago
lingua franca
a language used among speakers of different languages for the purpose of trade and commerce. can be a single language or a mixture of two or more
pidgin language
when people speaking 2 or more languages are in contact and they combine parts of their language in a simplified structure and vocabulary
Creole language
a pidgin language that has developed a more complex structure and vocabulary that has become the native language of a group of people
multilingualism
use of more than one language be sectors of the population
monolingual states
countries where almost everyone speaks the same language
multilingual states
countries in which more than one language is in use
official language
adopted in an effort to promote communication and interaction among peoples who speak different local and regional languages
global language
a common language of trade and commerce used around the world
place
a unique location and constitutesba reflection of human activities, ideas, and tangible, durable creations
toponyms
place names. often refer to the social processes going on, these may determine whether a toponym is passed down or changed, how people will interpret the history of a place, and how the people will see a place
