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AP Human Geography - Language Flashcards

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5472213974Accenta distinctive mode of pronunciation of a language, especially one associated with a particular nation, locality, or social class0
5472213975Anatolian HypothesisProposes that the dispersal of Proto-Indo-Europeans originated in Neolithic Anatolia. The hypothesis suggests that the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) lived in Anatolia during the Neolithic era, and associates the distribution of historical Indo-European languages with the expansion during the Neolithic revolution of the seventh and sixth millennia BC. An alternative (and academically more favored view) is the Kurgan hypothesis1
5472213976Kurgan Hypothesismost widely accepted proposal of several solutions to explain the origins and spread of the Indo-European languages.[note 1] It postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language. The term is derived from kurgan (курган), a Turkic loanword in Russian for a tumulus or burial mound.2
5472213977Nostratic Hypothesishypothesized ancestral language of Proto-Indo-European, as well as other ancestral language families3
5472213978Creolea language that began as a pidgin language but was later adopted as the mother tongue of a region and/or people4
5472213979Dialectlocal or regional characteristics of a language. More than just a different accent, dialects have distinctive grammar and vocabulary5
5472213980Extinct LanguageA language that is going extinct6
5472213981Ideogrampictures that symbolize ideas7
5472213982Indo-Europeana large, widespread family of languages, the surviving branches of which include Italic, Slavic, Baltic, Hellenic, Celtic, Germanic, and Indo-Iranian, spoken by about half the world's population: English, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek, Russian, Albanian, Lithuanian, Armenian, Persian, Hindi, and Hittite8
5472213983Isoglossgeographical boundary within which a particular linguistic feature occurs9
5472213984Isolated LanguageA language that is unrelated to any other languages and therefore not attached to any language family.10
5472213985Languagea systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols11
5472213986Language BranchA collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousands of years ago. Differences are not as extensive or as old as with language familes12
5472213987Language Familygroup of languages with a shared but fairly distant origin (e.g., Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan,...)13
5472213988Language Groupset of languages with a relatively recent common origin and many similar characteristics (e.g., Germanic, Romance, Slavic, ...)14
5472213989Lingua Francaa common language used by speakers of different languages15
5472213990Literary TraditionLanguage that is written down16
5472213991Mono-lingualOnly one language is spoken17
5472213992Bi-lingual2 languages are spoken18
5472213993Multi-lingual3+ languages are spoken19
5472213994National Language-language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) which has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a people and perhaps by extension the territory they occupy. -national language may for instance represent the national identity of a nation or country.20
5472213995Official Languagea governmentally designated language of instruction and other official public and private communication21
5472213996Orthographythe conventional spelling system of a language22
5472213997Pidginwhen parts of two or more languages are combined in simplified structure and vocabulary23
5472213998Polyglota person who speaks more than one language24
5472213999Slanga type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people25
5472214000Standard Languagea language substantially uniform with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary and representing the approved community norm of the tongue26
5472214001Syntaxthe arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language27
5472214002Toponymthe study of place names. (e.g., San Diego or San Francisco indicate they were established by Spain due to their Spanish and Catholic connotations)28
5472214003Trade Languagecommon languages used by merchants who did not speak a common tongue29
5472214004VernacularEveryday language of a specific nation30
5472214005Vocabularythe body of words used in a particular language31
5472214006Explain how Language Families, Branches, and Groups are classified and relatedLanguage Families-group of languages with a shared but fairly distant origin (e.g., Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan,...) Language Branches-A collection of languages related through a common ancestor that existed several thousands of years ago. Differences are not as extensive or as old as with language familes Language groups-set of languages with a relatively recent common origin and many similar characteristics (e.g., Germanic, Romance, Slavic, ...) Similarities- LANGUAGE, origin32
5472214007Map the Distribution of Major Families Worldwide33
5472214008Show the following language groups and give specific examples from each Germanic Slavic RomanceGermanic- Slavic- uh............ yea Romance-34
5472214009Describe the following characteristics of English: Origin and Historical Developement Worldwide Diffusion Spatial Variation Cultural and Economic Roles35
5472214010Explain the significance of an official languages, national languages, lingua francas36
5472214011Describe how languages become extinct and efforts use to preserve themHow they become extinct: - Language Shift (group of people begin to speak another language) - Globalization How to Preserve: - Isolation - Education/Literary Tradition - Cultural/Language Preservation Groups/Societies37

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