Chapter 4: Language Flashcards
language
mutually agreed-on system of symbolic communication that has a spoken and usually a written expression
dialect
distinctive local or regional variant of a language that remains mutually intelligible to speakers or other dialects of that language; a subtype of language
pidgin
composite language consisting of a small vocabulary borrowed from the linguistic groups involved in commerce
creole
language derived from a pidgin language that has acquired a fuller vocabulary and become the native language of its speakers
lingua franca
an existing, well-established language of communication and commerce used widely where it is not a mother tongue
bilingualism
ability to speak two languages fluently
language family
group of related languages derived from a common ancestor
polyglot
mixture of different languages
Anatolian hypothesis
theory of language diffusion holding that the movement of Indo-European languages from the area in contemporary Turkey known as Anatolia followed the spread of plant domestication technologies
Kurgan hypothesis
theory of language diffusion holding that the spread of Indo-European languages originated with animal domestication in the central Asian steppes and grew more aggressively and swiftly than proponents of the Anatolian hypothesis claim
isoglosses
border of usage of an individual word or pronunciation
slang
words or phrases that are not part of a standard, recognized vocabulary for a given language but that are nonetheless used and understood by some of its speakers
ethnolect
dialect spoken by a particular ethnic group
language hotspot
places on Earth that are home to the must unique, misunderstood, or endangered languages
linguistic refuge area
area protected by isolation or inhospitable environmental conditions in which a language or dialect has survived
toponym
place-name, usually consisting of two parts, the generic and the specific
generic toponym
descriptive part of many place-names, often repeated throughout a culture area
Chinese primary country
China
Spanish primary country
Spain
English primary country
United Kingdom
Arabic primary country
Saudi Arabia
Hindi primary country
India
Bengali primary country
Bangladesh
Portuguese primary country
Portugal
Russian primary country
Russia
Japanese primary country
Japan
German primary country
Germany
Javanese primary country
Indonesia
Lahnda primary country
Pakistan
Telugu primary country
India
Vietnamese primary country
Vietnam
Maranthi primary country
India
French primary country
France
Korean primary country
Korea
Italian primary country
Italy
Urdu primary country
Pakistan
major language families
Afro-Asiatic, 6% of world's speakers Austronesian, 6% of world's speakers Indo-European, 45% of world's speakers Niger-Congo, 6% of world's speakers Sino-Tibetian, 21% of world's speakers Trans-New Guinea, .06% of world's speakers
Indo-European language families
Indo-Iranian (Hindi, Urdu, Farsi) Hellenic (Greek) Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Welsh) Italic (French, Spanish, Italian) Balto-Slavic (Polish, Russian) Germanic (Norwegian, Icelandic, English, Dutch, German)
Endangered Language Project
worldwide collaboration to strengthen endangered languages
