Chapter 4 Vocab Flashcards
Define: Language
A mutually agreed-on system of symbolic communication, offers the main means by which learned belief systems, customs, and skills pass from one generation to the next
Define: dialects
Variant forms of a certain language where mutual comprehension is possible
Define: pidgin language
Very small vocabulary derived from the languages of the groups in contact for trade and commerce
Define: creole language
When a pidgin language gets a better vocabulary and become native languages of their speakers
Define: lingua franca
A communication and commerce language spoken across a wide area where it is not the mother tongue
Define: bilingualism
The ability to speak two languages with fluency
Define: language families
Tongues that are related and share a common ancestor
Define: polyglot
Multilanguage state
Define: isoglosses
Indicate the spatial borders of individual words or pronunciations
Define: slang
Words and phrases that are not a part of a standard, recognized vocabulary for a given language but are nonetheless used and understood by some or most of its speakers
Define: Ethnolect
A dialect spoken by an ethnic group
Define: linguistic refuge areas
Areas that provide minority linguistic groups refuge from aggressive neighbors
Define: toponyms
Place-names… Names people give to the land have to do with terrain features, streams, or various other aspects of their surroundings
Define: generic toponyms
Appear again and again throughout a culture region 4.3 or 4.4
