Ethnicity glossary

ethnicity

a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities such as:common ancestory, language, culture, history and inherited status

race

refers to a persons physical characteristics eg. Bone structure, hair, eye colour. This is set from birth

creole

A variety that has developed from a ‘pidgin’ or a trade language to become a stable language it is an extended version of a pidgin, spoken by the next generation (also known as a patois)

pidgin

simplified form of language. No native speakers. Compromise between languages (lingua francas)

London Jamaican english

a version of jamican creole or patios mixed with cockney English. Spoken by second or third generation speakers.

MLE

multi-cultural London English

Resistance identity

an identity that goes against mainstream culture

Ethnolect or multiethnolect

a type of dialect focused solely on ethnicity. Influenced by the language of parents or grandparents

Code switching

alternating between two or more language varieties in a situation or conversation

Diglossic code switching

a particular type of code switching, shifting between two languages in or between utterances. This can be unconscious (only works if the speaker speaks two languages)

linguistically appropriacy

Using an appropriate linguistic form in different situations