Unit 3 Chapter 5: Languages

Creole (or creolized) language

A language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated

Denglish

A combination of Deutsh (the German word for German) and English)

Developing Language

A Language spoken in daily use with a literary tradition that is not widely distributed

Dialect

A regional Variety of a Language distinguished by vocabulary, spelling, and pronounciation

Ebonics

A dialect spoken by some African Americans

Extinct Language

A language that was once used by people in daily activities but is no longer used

Franglais

A combination of francais and anglais (the French words for French and English respectively)

Indo-European

Language family including the Germanic and Romance Languages that is spoken by about 50% of he world's people

Institutional Language

A language used in education, work, mass media, and government

Isogloss

A boundary that seperates reions in which different language usages predominate

Isolated Language

A language that us unrelated to any other language and therefore not attached to any language family

Language Branch

A collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousand years ago. Differences are not as extensive or old as with language families, and archaeological evidence can confirm that these derived from the same family.

Language Family

A collection of languages related to each other through a common ancestor lang before recorded history

Language Group

A collection of languages within a branch that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display relatively few differences in grammar and vocabulary

lingua franca

A language mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages. (a common language used by speakers of different languages)

Literary tradition

A language that is written as well as spoken

Logogram

A symbol that represents a word rather than a sound

Official Language

The language adopted for use by the government for the conduct of business and publication of documents

Pidgin Language

A form of speech that adopts a simplified grammar and Limited vocabulary of a lingua franca used for communication among speakers of two different languages

Received Pronunciation (RP)

The dialect of English associated with upper class Britons living in London and now considered standard in the United Kingdom

Spanglish

A combination of Spanish and English spoken by Hispanic Americans

Standard Language

The form of a language used for official government business, education, and mass communications

Subdialect

A subdivision of a dialect

Toponym

Place names given to certain features on the land such as settlements, terrain features, and streams

Vigorus Language

A language spoken in daily use but that lacks a literary tradition

Vulgar Latin

A form of Latin used in daily conversation by ancient Roman, as opposed to the standard dialect, which was used for official documents