Chapter 4: Linguistic Anthropology
proto-language
A hypothetical common ancestral language of two or more living languages
creole language
a language of mixed origin that has developed from a complex blending of two parent languages that exists as a mother tongue for some part of the population
pidgin language
a mixed language with simplified grammar, typically borrowing its vocabulary from one language but its grammar from another
language
a system of communication consisting of sounds, words, and grammar
philology
comparative study of ancient texts and documents
syntax
pattern of word order used to form sentences and longer utterances in a language
call systems
patterned sounds or utterances that express meaning
linguistic relativity
the idea that people speaking different languages perceive or interpret the world differently because of differences in their languages
morphology
the structure for words and word formation in a language
ethnoscience
the study of how people classify things in the world, usually by considering some range or set of meanings
sociolinguistics
the study of how sociocultural context and norms shape language use and the effects of language use on society
descriptive linguistics
the systematic analysis and description of a language's sound system and grammar
phonology
the systematic pattern of sounds in a language, also known as the language's sound system
language ideology
widespread assumptions that people make about the relative sophistication and status of particular dialects
cognate words
words in two languages that show the same systematic sound shifts as other words in the two languages, usually interpreted by linguists as evidence for a common linguistic ancestry