Linguistics Flashcards
Assimilation
when sounds become more similar
Dissimilation
when sounds become unalike
Apocope
the loss of the final vowel
Syncope
the loss of the internal vowel
Epenthesis
additions of sounds for pronunciation
Metathesis
the changing round of consonants
Dialect
varieties of the same language
Idiolect
language of the individual
Sociolect
dialect of a particular social class
Supralect
above/over e.g. English spoken around the world
Mutual intelligibility
when people can understand each other e.g. people of neighbouring dialects can understand each other
Dialect continuum
dialects differing only slightly between close areas therefore mutual intelligibility decreases the further apart places/dialects are.
Patois
dialect of a village as opposed to a region (low status)
Vernacular
language/dialect spoken by ordinary people of country/region
Kioné
new variety created by dialect mixing/levelling/simplifying
Dialect levelling
where differences in dialects decrease
Standardisation
formalization of a language with intervention of an institution
Dialectology
study of dialects
Isogloss
line drawn on a map separating areas of different linguistic features
Wave theory (Johannes Schmidt)
linguistics innovations spread like waves
Transitional area
lack unique features of a dialect but share some with adjacent areas
Pidgin
language needed and created quickly when groups of different languages come into contact
Creole
developed Pidgin to become the first language of a speech community
Lingua Franca
common standard language
Superstrate languages
languages of high prestige
Substrate languages
languages of low prestige
Decreolisation
when creole structure changes
Recreolisation
when creole becomes more creole-like e.g. use of BVE amongst black teenagers in London
