AP HUG KBATs

Term

A boundary marker or limit

Literary tradition

A language's system of written communication, including its written literature and established writing conventions.

Language family

A collection of languages that descended from a common ancestral language.

Language branch

A subdivision of a language family whose languages share a more recent common ancestor.

Language group

A subdivision of a language branch whose languages are even more closely related.

Vulgar Latin

The everyday spoken form of Latin that eventually developed into the Romance languages.

Romance language

A language derived from Vulgar Latin, such as Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian.

Isolated language

A language with no demonstrated relationship to any other language family. Example: Basque.

Extinct language

A language that no longer has any living native speakers.

2. Language variation and geography

Term

Definition

Official language

A language adopted by a government for use in official documents, laws, and public institutions.

Dialect

A regional or social variation of a language with distinct vocabulary, pronunciation, or grammar.

Isogloss

A geographic boundary marking the area where a particular linguistic feature is used.

British Received Pronunciation (RP)

A traditionally prestigious British English accent associated with educated speakers and historically with upper-class speech.

Slang

Informal vocabulary used by particular social groups or communities.

Developing language

A language that is expanding in vocabulary, standardization, or written use.

3. Language interaction and diffusion

Term

Definition

Lingua franca

A common language used for communication between people who speak different native languages. Example: English in international business.

Pidgin language

A simplified language that develops when groups without a common language need to communicate. It initially has no native speakers.

Creole language

A stable, fully developed language that evolves from a pidgin and becomes the native language of a community.

Vigorous language

A language that is actively spoken and continues to be used and passed down to younger generations.

Ebonics

A term historically used for African American English, a systematic variety of English with distinctive grammatical, pronunciation, and vocabulary patterns.

4. Writing systems

Term

Definition

Ideograms

Symbols that represent ideas or concepts rather than specific sounds or words.

Logograms

Written symbols that represent entire words or meaningful units of language.

5. Blended languages

Term

Definition

Franglais

A mixture of French and English words or expressions.

Spanglish

A mixture of Spanish and English used in conversation or writing.

Denglish

A mixture of German and English words or expressions.