Key Linguistics Concepts and Terminology Explained
Conversation Analysis
An approach to the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and non-verbal conduct, in situations of everyday life.
Contrastive Linguistics
A branch of comparative linguistics concerned with pairs of languages that are ‘socio-culturally linked’. These languages are often used by a considerable number of bi- or multilingual speakers, and/or a substantial amount of ‘linguistic output’ (text, discourse) is translated between them.
Language Assessment
A field of study under the umbrella of applied linguistics. Its main focus is the assessment of first, second, or other language proficiency in school, college, or university contexts. Assessment may include listening, speaking, reading, writing, an integration of two or more of these skills, or other aspects of language ability, knowledge, and proficiency.
Speech Therapy
A field focused on addressing communication issues. These include speech disorders (problems with the actual production of sounds, such as articulation disorders or fluency disorders) and language disorders (difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas).
Lingua Franca
A language systematically used to enable communication between persons not sharing a native language. It is often a third language, distinct from the native languages of the speakers involved.
Accent
The way a particular person or group of people sounds. It encompasses how somebody pronounces words, the musicality of their speech, etc.
Dialect
Describes both a person’s accent and the grammatical features of the way that person talks.
Sociolinguistics
The descriptive study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used, and the effects of language use on society.
Hypercorrection
In linguistics or usage, hypercorrection is a non-standard usage resulting from the over-application of a perceived rule of grammar or a usage prescription. It occurs when a real or imagined grammatical rule is applied in an inappropriate context, so that an attempt to be “correct” leads to an error.
Code-Switching or Style-Shifting
In linguistics, code-switching (or style-shifting) occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, within a single conversation.
Grammatical Variation
Refers to differences in the structure of words, phrases, or sentences, observed by comparing the way a language (e.g., English) is spoken in different places and among different social groups.
Lexical Variation
Refers to differences in words and phrases, observed by comparing the way a language (e.g., English) is spoken in different places and among different social groups.
Jargon
Special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand.
Borrowing
A word taken from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language without translation.
Standard Language
Most languages have a standard variety, which is a form selected and promoted by authorities or social institutions, such as schools or the media.
Non-Standard Language
Describes language use (in pronunciation, grammatical construction, idiom, or word choice) that does not conform to the usage generally characteristic of educated native speakers of a language’s standard variety.
Register
One of the many styles or varieties of language determined by factors such as social occasion, purpose, and audience. Register is used to indicate degrees of formality in language use. Different registers are sometimes called codes.
Migration (Linguistic Context)
Occurs when individuals or groups from speech community A move to a territory dominated by the language of speech community B. If community A continues using its language while needing to acquire B’s language for integration or survival, language contact and change can occur.
Immigration (Linguistic Context)
In linguistics, refers to immigrant languages that have arrived in a country or region and have been spoken there for several generations. Immigrant languages should not be confused with foreign or second languages.
Language Contact
Occurs when speakers of two or more languages or varieties interact closely, leading to mutual influence between their languages. Language contact often results from phenomena like migration and immigration.
Language Isolate
A natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; one that has not been shown to descend from an ancestor common with any other language.