Ch 6 Language

Language

A system of communication using sounds and symbols understood by a group of people

Preliterate language

A language that is spoken but has no written tradition

Language family

A group of languages with a shared but distant origin

Language branch

A smaller division of a family showing more recent common ancestry

Language group

Collection of languages within a branch that share a more recent origin

Dialect

A regional variation of a language with differences in pronunciation and vocabulary

Standard language

The form of language used by those in power and taught in schools

Mutual intelligibility

The ability of speakers of different languages/dialects to understand each other

National language

Language tied to sense of national identity and cultural unity

Official language

The language chosen by government for laws

Monolingual state

A country where only one language is widely spoken

Multilingual state

A country where multiple languages are commonly used

Lingua franca

A universal or regional language used to communicate across groups

Trade language

A simplified language used for commerce and interaction between cultures

Pidgin

A simplified blending of languages with limited grammar for basic communication

Creole

A fully developed language from a pidgin with native speakers and complex grammar

Language divergence

Process by which languages split and evolve into new separate ones

Language convergence

Process where two languages blend into one due to long contact

Extinct language

A language no longer spoken or learned by native speakers

Revived language

An extinct or endangered language brought back through teaching and advocacy

Hebrew revival

The most successful revival of an extinct language in modern times

Sound shift

Small changes in pronunciation that show linguistic evolution

Deep reconstruction

Rebuilding earlier languages using existing root words and sound patterns

Backward reconstruction

Tracing a language back to its earlier form using sound shifts

Proto-Indo-European

Theoretical ancestral language of Indo-European family

Nostratic hypothesis

Theory proposing PIE and other families came from one prehistoric root

Toponym

A place name that reflects culture

Descriptive toponym

A place name describing physical features (e.g.

Associative toponym

Name linked with a human or natural association (Mill Valley)

Commemorative toponym

Name honoring a person or event (Washington D.C.)

Commendatory toponym

Name expressing praise or positivity (Paradise Valley)

Incident toponym

Place named for an event that occurred (Battle Creek)

Possession toponym

Place named after an individual or family (Johnson City)

Folk toponym

Place named in traditional or cultural style (Native names)

Manufactured toponym

Deliberately created name (Truth or Consequences)

Mistake toponym

Misinterpreted or misspelled name (Lasker instead of Alaska)

Shift toponym

Name relocated from one place to another (New England)

Globalization effect on language

Increases dominance of major languages and threatens smaller ones

Endangered language

A language at risk of losing speakers and disappearing

Language death

Final stage where there are no living native speakers

Language revival strategies

Teaching youth

Isogloss

A geographic boundary marking linguistic differences

Language diffusion

Spread of languages through migration

Conquest theory

Indo-European spread through war/horseback expansion

Agricultural theory

Indo-European spread through farming and population growth

Indo-European family

Largest language family spanning Europe

Sino-Tibetan family

Second largest family including Mandarin Chinese

Afro-Asiatic family

Family of Arabic and Hebrew in North Africa + SW Asia

Niger-Congo family

African family with over 3

Austronesian family

Island-based languages spread across Pacific + Madagascar

Altaic family

Central Asian and Turkish languages

Uralic family

Includes Finnish

Dravidian family

Languages in southern India (Tamil

Japonic family

Japanese and related languages

Korean language isolate

Korean stands largely independent of other families

Basque language isolate

Oldest European language unrelated to any family

Language hearth

Area where a language first originated and diffused

Anatolian hearth theory

Suggests PIE began in Turkey/Anatolia

Kurgan hearth theory

Suggests PIE spread via steppe horse warriors

Bilingualism

Ability to speak two languages fluently

Trilingualism

Ability to speak three languages fluently

Code switching

Shifting between languages/dialects in conversation

Orthography

System of writing symbols for a language

Syntax

Structure of sentences and grammar rules

Semantics

Meaning of words and symbols

Phoneme

Smallest unit of sound that changes meaning

Morpheme

Smallest meaningful unit of language

Lexicon

Complete vocabulary of a language

Vernacular language

Informal everyday speech of a region

Slang

Nonstandard informal vocabulary that changes quickly

Accent

Variation in pronunciation only

Ethnolinguistic group

Community identified by shared language and cultural traits

Colonialism impact on language

Spread of European languages worldwide

English as lingua franca

Used globally for science

Mandarin dominance

Most native speakers due to Chinese population size

Spanish diffusion

Spread heavily through colonial Latin America

French diffusion

Colonial spread in West Africa

Creole example

Haitian Creole from French + African languages

Pidgin example

Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea

Spanglish

Hybrid mix of Spanish + English

Chinglish

Hybrid mix of Chinese + English structures

Franglais

Blend of French + English vocabulary

Global language extinction rate

One language dies approximately every two weeks

UNESCO language levels

Safe → Vulnerable → Endangered → Critically Endangered → Extinct

Cultural identity through language

Language forms emotional bond + group belonging

Communication barrier

Occurs when groups cannot understand each other

Language policy

Gov rules determining language use

Quebec language laws

Signs require French twice as large as English

Belgium language divide

Flemish (Dutch) north vs French south = centrifugal

Switzerland multilingual success

Four languages coexist peacefully = centripetal

India linguistic diversity

22 official languages across regions

Nigeria language conflict

250+ languages create tension → English used as neutral lingua franca

Papua New Guinea diversity

900+ languages = most linguistically diverse country

Endangered Indigenous languages

Threatened due to globalization and colonialism

Language preservation efforts

Bilingual schooling

Writing system evolution

Script develops after spoken language and spreads slowly

Language as cultural diffusion marker

Tracks migration patterns historically

Technological influence on language

Creates new vocab like emoji slang or tech terms

Internet English dominance

69% of web content once English = cultural spread

Texting language

Simplified written communication using abbreviations (LOL