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| 8153743013 | agricultural theory | theory that explains how Proto-Indo- European languages diffused into Europe. Said it occurred through the diffusion of agriculture. Each generation (25 years) the agricultural frontier moved approx 11 miles. | 0 | |
| 8153743014 | conquest theory | one major theory of how Proto-Indo- European language diffused into Europe which holds that the early speakers spread westward on horseback, overpowering earlier inhabitants and beginning the diffusion and differentiation of Indo-European tongues. | 1 | |
| 8153743015 | creole | a language derived from a pidgin that has acquired a fuller vocabulary and more formal structure. It becomes the native language of its speakers. | 2 | |
| 8153743016 | dialect | a distinctive local or regional variant of a language remaining mutually intelligible to other speakers of that language. variances include accent, grammar, spelling, or vocabulary | 3 | |
| 8153743017 | generic toponym | descriptive part of many place names, repeated throughout a culture area, like burg, ville, etc. | 4 | |
| 8153743018 | ideograms | writing system used in East Asian countries like China where a symbol represents an idea/word rather than a sound | 5 | |
| 8153743019 | isoglosses | boundaries around an area of space where there are variations in pronunciation or word usage | 6 | |
| 8153743020 | isolated language | a language that is unrelated to any other languages and not attached to any language family | 7 | |
| 8153743021 | language branch/subfamily | within a language family, a collection of languages related through a common origin that existed several thousands of years ago, with similarities | 8 | |
| 8153743022 | language convergence | collapsing of two languages into one resulting from constant interaction of people with different languages | 9 | |
| 8153743023 | language divergence | process where new languages are formed when a language breaks into dialects due to lack of interaction and the dialects continue to evolve | 10 | |
| 8153743024 | language families | collection of languages related through a common ancestral language existing long before recorded history | 11 | |
| 8153743025 | language | a mutually agreed upon system of symbolic communication that has a spoken and usually written expression | 12 | |
| 8153743026 | language replacement | language shift, sometimes referred to as language transfer or assimilation, is the progressive process whereby a speech community of a language shifts to speaking a new language | 13 | |
| 8153743027 | lingua franca | A common language used by people who do not share the same native language | 14 | |
| 8153743028 | linguistic refuge areas | an area with rugged hills or mountains, excessively cold/dry climates, dense forests, etc. protecting minority language groups, helping isolate them from outside language influences/conquerors | 15 | |
| 8153743029 | monoglot | knowing only one language | 16 | |
| 8153743030 | monolingual states | countries in which only 1 language is spoken by nearly everyone in the country, few countries fit this definition anymore | 17 | |
| 8153743031 | multilingual states | countries in which more than 1 language is spoken | 18 | |
| 8153743032 | official language | in multilingual countries it is the language selected, often by the educated and politically powerful elite, to promote internal cohesion. Usually is the language of the government and court system. This language might reflect the country's colonial history | 19 | |
| 8153743033 | pidgin language | a simplified language (simple grammar and limited vocabulary) mutually understood and commonly used in trade by people who have different native languages; this language is usually not the group's primary language | 20 | |
| 8153743034 | polyglot | a person who is able to speak or write in multiple languages | 21 | |
| 8153743035 | Renfrew hypothesis | hypothesis that proposes that three areas in and near the first agricultural hearth, the Fertile Crescent, gave rise to three language families | 22 | |
| 8153743036 | reverse reconstruction | process of tracing a language's diffusion. The process begins with the most recent places of the language's existence and moves backward through time, comparing geographic places and groups of people using the same or similar words. | 23 | |
| 8153743037 | shatterbelts. | a zone of great cultural complexity containing many small cultural groups who speak diverse languages. Ie-- Himalayas, Alps, Caucasus | 24 | |
| 8153928576 | standard language | a language substantially uniform with respect to spelling, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary and representing the approved norm of the tongue | 25 | |
| 8153941432 | toponym | a place name, influenced by dialect, language, and ethnicity | 26 | |
| 8153947162 | language group | a collection of languages within a branch/subfamily that share a common origin in the relatively recent past and display many similarities in grammar and vocabulary | 27 | |
| 8153950366 | linguist | a scientist who studies language | 28 |
