Language Organization
Origins of English
Types of Languages
Global Language
100
A collection of languages that have a common ancestral language, such as Indo-European and Sino-Tibetan.
What is a language family?
100
These were Germanic invaders that took over the British Isles and contributed 1/4 of words to English.
Who are the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes?
100
This type of language is used by the government and in work settings.
What is an institutional language?
100
A regional variation of a language that differs in vocabulary, pronunciation, or spelling.
What is a dialect?
200
A part of a language family that is related by a more recent common ancestor, such as Germanic.
What is a language branch?
200
These people from France took over the British Isles, making French an official language there, and contributed over 1/2 of the words of modern English.
Who are the Normans?
200
A type of language that is used by people of all ages daily but does not have a widespread literary tradition.
What is a developing language?
200
The boundary of a dialect or language.
What is an isogloss?
300
A part of a language branch that includes languages that have similar grammar and vocabulary.
What is a language group?
300
These people tried to invade the British Isles and contributed a few words like "die" and "leg".
Who are the Vikings?
300
A type of language that is used for face-to-face communication and is losing users.
What is a threatened language?
300
A language used by people all over the world for business.
What is a lingua franca?
400
The largest language family.
What is Indo-European?
400
This Roman language was the basis for modern English (and many other European languages).
What is Vulgar Latin?
400
A type of language used by older people but is not used by younger generations.
What is a dying language?
400
A simple language that combines parts of two different languages.
What is a pidgin language?
500
Many ancient books are written languages from this language family.
What is Afro-Asiatic?
500
These people lived in the British Isles before Germanic groups invaded and contributed a few words to English.
Who are the Celts?
500
A type of language used daily by people of all ages but that lacks a literary tradition.
What is a vigorous language?
500
A complex language that combines parts of two languages and is used by a group of people.
What is a creole language?