Language Key Terms Menu
By Ashley H. and Emma S.
Standard Language
A dialect in a language that has many dialects that is well known and recognized by all speakers of that language.
Example: British Received Pronounciation (BRP)
Dialect
A regional variation of a language that has slightly different vocabulary, pronounciation, and spelling.
Example: The American southern dialect uses the word y'all
Isogloss
A vernacular boundary that separates regions where certain words are used.
Example: In the Midwest, people call soda pop, while in the south people call it coke.
Language family
Group of languages that share a common ancestral language that was spoken before written history.
Example: The Indo-European Language Family
Language branch
A group of languages that has a common ancestral language that existed thousands of years ago. These are not as extensive and old as language families.
Example: The Germanic Language Branch
Language Group
A group of languages that share a common ancestral language from a relatively recent time. These languages have few differences in vocabulary and grammar.
Example: The West Germanic Language Group
Creole/Creolized Language
A language that resulted from the mixing of a location's native language and the language of those who colonized it.
Example: French Creole
Extinct Language
A language no longer spoken or read by anyone alive on a daily basis.
Example: Old Prussian
Isolated Language
A language that is not related to any other languages and therefore isn't in a language family.
Example: Basque
Pidgin Langauge
A simplified version of a lingua franca.
Example: English learned in other countries