week #11 ap hg

Language

A system of communication using sounds that a group understands to have meaning.

Official Language

The language used by a government for business and documents.

Literacy

The ability to read and write. The literacy rate measures this ability in a population.

Language Family

A group of languages linked by a very ancient common ancestor.

Language Branch

A group of languages related through a common ancestor from several thousand years ago, with fewer differences than language families.

Language Group

A collection of languages within a branch that share a relatively recent common origin and have similar grammar and vocabulary.

Language Convergence

When two languages become more similar due to interaction between speakers.

Language Divergence

When a language splits into different languages due to lack of interaction between speakers.

Logogram

A symbol representing a word or part of a word instead of a sound.

Endangered Language

A language at risk of falling out of use, often due to declining speakers and lack of transmission to younger generations.

Language Isolate

A language not related to any other known language family.

Language Extinction

When a language is no longer spoken by any native speakers.

Dialects

Regional or social variations of a language characterized by differences in vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation.

Pidgin Language

A simplified language used for communication between speakers of different languages, with limited vocabulary and grammar.

Creole Language

A language that develops from a pidgin and becomes the native language of a group.

Spanglish

A mix of Spanish and English spoken by Hispanic Americans.

Hawaiian Pidgin

A creole language from Hawaii combining elements of English, Hawaiian, and other immigrant languages.

Jamaican Patois

An English-based creole with West African influences spoken primarily in Jamaica.

Lingua Franca

A language used for communication and trade between people with different native languages.

Monoglot

A person who speaks only one language.

Isoglosses

A geographic boundary for a specific linguistic feature or term.

Monolingual

A person or country where only one language is spoken.

Multilingual

The ability to speak several languages.

Polyglot

A person fluent in or who uses several languages.