Lecture 6 - Language And Religion Flashcards
Dialect
Distinctive local or regional variant of a language that remains mutually intelligible to speakers of other dialects of that language; a subtype of a 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
The ability to speak two languages fluently
Language family
A group of related languages derived from a common ancestor
Polyglot
A 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 maintain
Isogloss
The border of usage of an individual word or pronunciation
Language hotspots
Those places on earth that are home to the most unique, misunderstood, or endangered languages
Toponym
A place-name usually consisting of two parts: the generic and the specific
Generic toponyms
The descriptive part of many place-names, often repeated throughout a culture area
Monotheistic religion
The worship of only one God
Polytheistic religion
The worship of many gods
