Language 2

Flashcards covering key vocabulary regarding language families and their survival.

Sino Tibetan language family

The largest language family, found in Eastern Asia, dominated by Mandarin which uses ideograms.

Afro Asiatic language family

Found primarily in Northern Africa and the Middle East, with Arabic as the most dominant language.

Niger Congo language family

The third largest language family, primarily found in Sub Saharan Africa, with Swahili as the dominant language.

Khoisan language family

A language family in Africa characterized by its distinctive clicking sounds and significant Arabic influence.

Extinct Language

A language that is no longer spoken or used in daily life, such as Gothic or Latin.

Revived Language

A language that has been brought back into common use, such as Hebrew.

Preserved Language

A language that is protected for its cultural importance, like Celtic.

Multilingual States

Countries that have two or more dominant languages, exemplified by Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland.

Isolated Language

A language that is unrelated to other languages, such as Basque.

Lingua Franca

A common language used for trade between speakers of different languages, currently dominated by English.

Pidgin Language

An extremely limited understanding of a language, used in trade contexts.

Trade Language

A new language developed by speakers of different languages for the sake of trading.

Expansion Diffusion of English

The process by which English words integrate with other languages due to cultural blending.

Ebonics

A dialect of American English spoken by African Americans.