Everett_Linguistic Diversity - lecture 2

Linguistic diversity

The variety of languages used by different human populations, reflecting cultural and cognitive differences.

Extant languages

Languages that are currently in use as opposed to those that are extinct.

Mutually unintelligible

A characteristic of languages or dialects where speakers cannot understand each other.

Dialect

A regional or social variety of a language that has distinctive features such as vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.

Larynx

The part of the vocal tract involved in sound production; lowering the larynx is critical for human speech.

Cochlea

A spiral-shaped cavity in the inner ear important for hearing, particularly sensitive to speech frequencies.

Language isolates

Languages that cannot be linked to any known language family.

Polysynthetic languages

Languages that form words by combining multiple morphemes into single words.

Morphosyntactic variation

The differences in morphological and syntactic structures found in different languages.

Evidentiality

A grammatical category that indicates the source of information expressed in a statement.

Ergativity

A type of syntactic alignment where the subject of an intransitive verb is treated like the object of a transitive verb, rather than the subject.

Implicational universal

A type of linguistic universal where the presence of one feature (antecedent) implies the presence of another feature (consequent) in a language.

SVO order

A type of sentence structure where the Subject precedes the Verb, which is followed by the Object.

SOV order

A sentence structure where the Subject precedes the Object, which is followed by the Verb.

Linguistic relativity

The hypothesis that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview and cognition.

Tonality in language

The use of pitch to distinguish meaning in some languages.

Airstream mechanisms

The methods utilized by languages to create sound, including pulmonic, ejective, and implosive airstreams.

Word order

The order in which the subject, verb, and object are arranged in sentences, varying greatly across languages.

Desiderative affixes

Morphemes that express a speaker's desire for an action to occur.

Scientific hypothesis

A proposed explanation for a phenomenon that can be tested through research.

Genotypic homogeneity

The genetic similarity among individuals within a species, which can mask behavioral diversity.

Cognitive variation

Differences in mental processes and cognitive functioning that may arise from linguistic diversity.

Grammatical gender

A system that classifies nouns into categories such as masculine, feminine, and neuter which can affect agreement with other words.

Phoneme

The smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish meaning.

Lexicon

The inventory of words and their meanings in a language.

Syntax

The set of rules and principles that govern the structure of sentences in a language.

Semantics

The study of meaning in language, including the meaning of words and phrases.

Pragmatics

The study of how context influences the interpretation of meaning in language.

Language acquisition

The process by which humans gain the capacity to perceive and comprehend language.

Pidgin languages

Simplified languages that develop as means of communication between speakers of different native languages.

Creole languages

Stable natural languages that have developed from a mixture of different languages, typically from a pidgin.

Code-switching

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

Sociolinguistics

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

Bilingualism

The ability to speak and understand two languages fluently.

Loanwords

Words adopted from one language and incorporated into another without translation.

Endangered languages

Languages that are at risk of falling out of use, often because they are spoken by a small number of people.

Dialect continuum

A range of dialects spoken across a geographical area that are mutually intelligible at adjacent points.

Language family

A group of languages that are related through descent from a common ancestor.