Linguistics 1020: Language and Environment

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms related to language and sociolinguistics as studied in Linguistics 1020.

What are Styles in language use?

Variations in language use that reflect different social contexts or purposes.

What are Dialects?

Regional or social variations of a language that differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar.

What is Sociolinguistics?

The study of how language varies and changes in social groups.

What is Code-switching?

The practice of alternating between two or more languages or language varieties in conversation.

What is Language shift?

A process whereby a community of speakers shifts from using one language to another.

What is Language maintenance?

Efforts made to continue the use of a language within a community.

What is Vernacular?

The everyday language spoken by a people, as opposed to a formal or literary language.

What is Pidginization?

The process of creating a simplified language that develops from two or more languages.

What is Language planning?

The deliberate effort to influence the function, structure, or acquisition of languages within a community.

What is a National language?

A language that has a special status in a country, typically used for government and administration.

What is Diglossia?

A situation where two languages or dialects are used by a single language community in different social contexts.

What is Lexical borrowing?

The process of taking words from one language and incorporating them into another.

What are World Englishes?

The various forms of English spoken in different parts of the world, often reflecting local influences.

What is Creolization?

The process through which a new stable language develops from a mixture of different languages.

What is Language death?

The complete disappearance of a language when all its speakers die or shift to speaking another language.