chapter 5

• language-family


  the largest group in language classification, consisting of languages that share a common ancestor
• language-branch


  a subdivision of a language family, grouping more closely related languages
• language-group


  a smaller subdivision within a branch, containing even more closely related languages
• indo-european-family


  one of the largest families, including many european and south asian languages
• dialect


  a regional variation of a language that can be distinguished by its distinctive pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar
• vernacular


  the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people of a country or region
• slang


  very informal language that is typically used in casual conversation, often specific to a particular group or culture
• creole


  a language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the native language of the people being dominated
• pidgin


  a simplified language that develops for communication between groups who don't share a common language
• extinct-language


  a language that no longer has any native speakers
• official-language


  a language adopted by the government to be used for all government-related activities and publications (conducting business)
• lingua-franca


  a language that is mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages
• colonialism


  an attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory
• imperialism


  when a country controls another country politically and/or economically, often against the will of the people of the country
• logogram


  a written character that represents a word or phrase, rather than individual sounds
• isogloss


  a geographic boundary line marking the limit of the area in which a particular linguistic feature is found