1-LANGUAGES+%26+DIALECTS

Language

A system of communication that uses arbitrary and conventional speech sounds to convey meaning.

Linguistic competence

The knowledge of words and grammar.

Linguistic performance

The actual use of linguistic competence in speech production and comprehension.

Grammar

The rules that govern the structure of a language.

Phonology

The study of sound patterns in language.

Phoneme

The basic abstract unit of sound that distinguishes meaning between words.

Allophone

The perceptible variations of a phoneme in different contexts.

Phonotactic constraints

Rules that dictate permissible combinations of sounds in a particular language.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

A standardized system of phonetic notation for transcribing the sounds of all languages.

Morpheme

The smallest grammatical unit in a language that carries meaning.

Syntax

The set of rules that determines the structure of sentences in a language.

Pragmatics

The study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning.

Semantics

The branch of linguistics that studies meaning, including the interpretation of words and structures.

Dialect

A variety of language used by a specific group, often characterized by its own phonological and syntactic rules.

Social dialect

Dialects that arise from social factors such as class, ethnicity, and education.

Regional dialect

Distinct varieties of language that are unique to specific geographical areas.

Code-switching

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

Mutual intelligibility

The ability of speakers of different but related languages or dialects to understand each other.