key terms and concepts 2

Question 1

superstratum

Answer 1

a language or aspect that affects another less prestigious/socially/culturally dominated language

Question 2

substratum

Answer 2

a language or aspect that affects a more dominant language (often where the speech of a colonized people influences the superimposed language of the conquering group)

Question 3

adstratum

Answer 3

a language that is in contact with another language without having higher or lower power

Question 4

acrolect

Answer 4

language variety closest to a creole’s lexifier language (with higher prestige)

Question 5

basilect

Answer 5

language variety closest to a creole’s pidgin source (or exhibiting a high degree of creole features)

Question 6

mesolect

Answer 6

language variety with middling prestige (often retaining semantic and syntactic features not found in the acrolect, vary from speaker to speaker)

Question 7

code-switching

Answer 7

switching from one language to another (bilingual)

Question 8

code-mixing

Answer 8

mixing words and expressions from different languages / language varieties

Question 9

inner circle

Answer 9

nations where English is a native language for majority (U.S., Canada, U.K., etc)

Question 10

outer circle

Answer 10

nation where English is not native but still used extensively for education and business (India, Singapore, Ghana)

Question 11

expanding circle

Answer 11

nations that have no great historical ties to English at a societal level but use English in the international domains commerce and science (Russia, Spain, Japan)

Question 12

Noah Webster

Answer 12

American lexicographer known for his American Spelling Book and American Dictionary of the English Language

Question 13

Swearwords and Slang

Answer 13

are not the same

Question 14

Swearwords

Answer 14

anger, hostility, surprise, emotions; taboo

Question 15

Slang

Answer 15

group specific