ACROLECT In the context of decreolisation, the variety on the

upper, or educated, end of a continuum of creoles,

closest to the stand language from which the creole is
derived, and furthest away from the creole.
MESOLECT In the context of decreolisation, the intermediate
variety (or varieties) of a continuum of creoles,
between the basilect and acrolect, and influenced to
varying degrees by the acrolect.
BASILECT In the context of decreolisation, the variety or on the
lower end of a continuum of creoles, closest to creole
itself, and furthest away from the standard.
LEXIFIER The language from which most of the vocabulary of a
pidgin or a creole is taken (generally languages linked
to colonization, such as English, French, Spanish, etc.)
ENGLISH-LEXIFIER CREOLE Any English-based creole, with a vocabulary heavily
influenced by English.

LINGUISTIC COMPETENCE Knowledge and skills related to the lexical,

phonological, syntactical and other dimensions of
language as a system, without consideration of socio-
linguistic of pragmatic functions.
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE Knowledge and skills necessary to use a language
properly in society, taking into account factors such
as register, context, cultural nuances, etc.
Communicative competence, and not just linguistic
competence, is necessary for the successful use of a
language in communication.
PRAGMATIC COMPETENCE The functional use of linguistic resources, such as
speech acts, the production of language functions,
etc. in oral or written exchanges. This includes the
ability to use and express meaning through language
that is beyond the use of linguistic rules, as well as
the identification of text types and forms (irony,
parody, etc.)
SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCE The ability to communicate appropriately, taking into
account sociolinguistic considerations, such as the
sensitivity to social conventions (politeness,
appropriateness of certain topics/registers in certain
situations, conventions related intergenerational
communications, codifications of rituals, etc.)

ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES The languages spoken by Aboriginal Australians

before the arrival of English colonizers.
ABORIGINAL ENGLISH The continuum of varieties of English used by
Aboriginal Australians, ranging from standard
Australian English to a variety of creoles.
AAVE (AFRICAN AMERICAN The language spoken by black communities in the
VERNACULAR ENGLISH/BLACK United States (though not by all black Americans),
ENGLISH distinguished by the fact that it has a significantly
VERNACULAR/EBONICS) different linguistic system to standard American
English in regards to pronunciations, grammatical
structure, vocabulary, idiomatic usage, etc.
HERITAGE LANGUAGE A language spoken by an immigrant group or
individual who, as an immigrant (or immigrant
community), resides and speaks the language in a
country other than their own.
ENDANGERED LANGUAGE A language at risk of disappearing as a living language
due to a decrease in the number of speakers. This
may be a result of various factors, among them bad
language planning, or socio-economic factors.
MINORITY LANGUAGE Languages that live in the shadow or a culturally
dominant language, a situation which often puts the
minority language at risk. Often, minority languages
or only used by their speakers in certain contexts,
and are excluded from education, administration, or
use in the media.
PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN A reconstructed (‘proto’) language considered be the
source of other languages in the Indo-European
language group, with this being a genetic
classification linking a group of languages with
common parentage, including subgroups such as
Indo-Iranian, Germanic, Celtic, etc. English, and the
majority of European languages, for a part of this
language group.
SABIR A lingua franca used in the Mediterranean area from
the Middle Ages to the twentieth century. Although it
was used basically as a contact language for those
who did not share a common language, it is notable
for the fact, despite this, that it remained as a stable
language for centuries.
LINGUA FRANCA A ‘common language’ used to communicate among
speakers of different mother tongues, for example in
contexts of international and intercultural
communication (for example the use of English as an
international language).
LWC (LANGUAGE OF WIDER A lingua franca.
COMMUNICATION)
AUXILIARY LANGUAGE A language used for specific, limited purposes, with a
functional goal. Pidgins are an example, as is
Esperanto, Business English, etc.
NEW ENGLISHES/WORLD Any of the varieties of English that have emerged as a
ENGLISH consequence of its spread during the colonial period
(for example, in India, Singapore, etc.). This term,
 rather than placing emphasis on ‘native’ and ‘non-
native’ speakers, recognizes English as and
international language with functional variations
depending on the context.

SYNTHETIC LANGUAGE A typological classification based on how words in a

given language are formed. Also known as inflectional
languages, these are languages with a number of
affixes that add information, generally
functional/grammatical rather than lexical, to words,
such as tense, case, gender, etc.
ANALYTIC LANGUAGE A typological classification based on how words in a
given language are formed. Also known as isolating
languages, analytic languages do not use affixes to
add meaning to words, and the function of words in a
sentence is shown primarily through word order.

LANGUAGE CONFLICT In a multilingual situation, a language-related conflict

with ideological, political, or economic reasons as it’s
cause. The conflict may, for example, be about
decisions regarding the selection of a national
language, the languages used in formal education, or
the competing status of two different languages in a
region.
LANGUAGE The decision, especially in developing or ex-colonial
ELECTION/SELECTION countries, as to the selection of a national language.
This decision is normally made for practical reasons,
such as the socio-political development of the
country, the need for a lingua franca when a wide
variety of languages is spoken, international
recognition, etc.
LANGUAGE LOSS A situation in which language shift in a speech
community results in a complete shift to another
language, for example, in a group of immigrants,
where, within a few generations, the original
language is no longer spoken.
LANGUAGE POLICY DIVISION An EU department responsible for the progress of EU
language policies within the EU member states. They
are responsible for elaborating guidelines and policies
related to language learning, linguistic diversity, etc.
LANGUAGE Language planning efforts made to revive a language
REVITILASATION/REVIVAL which, due to social or economic reasons, has a
decreasing number of speakers (or even which was
lost). An example would be Hebrew, which has been
revived as a living, spoken language.
LANGUAGE SPREAD The increase in the use of a language or language
variety for a given communicative function, by
 specific social or ethnic groups. This can be a
traditional language which gains in speakers; or a
lingua franca such as English.
HERITAGE BILINGUAL A bilingual education model allowing minority
EDUCATION language children to receive education in their native,
home, or heritage language, with the goal of
developing full bilingualism, as well as preserving the
ethnic language and culture of a community.
FAMILY LANGUAGE PLANNING A family’s deliberate efforts to influence their child’s
language acquisition, and which language/s are
acquired. This is of special importance in situations
where the language spoken by the family is at risk, or
is a minority language, and is essential in language
maintenance.
CORPUS-PLANNING Actions undertaken to modify the nature of
characteristics of a language in some way, for
example, regarding which pronunciation to adopt,
why syntactical patterns to follow, etc.
STATUS PLANNING Actions aimed at raising or lowering the status of a
language or dialect, i.e., the selection of particular
varieties for particular purposes or communicative
functions.

BI-DIALECTAL Someone who is capable of using to dialects or

language varieties. Similar to bilingualism, except that
the differences between the two codes concerned
does not make them mutually unintelligible.
BALANCED BILINGUAL Someone with a mastery of two different languages,
who is equally fluent in both and can use them in a
range of contexts. This is an idealized concept, as
most bilinguals tend to use each respective language
in different contexts or for different purposes.
ASCENDANT BILINGUAL The development of someone’s ability to function in
a second language due to increased use of the said
language.
CO-ORDINATE BILINGUAL Someone who has learned two languages in two
different contexts, possibly implying the existence of
two different meaning systems in the brain.
COMPOUND BILINGUALISM Bilingualism in which one language has been learnt
after the other, in the same context, through the first
one. Both languages are closely connected and may
be part of a single meaning system in the brain (ie.
One thing will always have two verbal expressions.)
CONSECUTIVE BILINGUALISM Acquisition of a second language after the age of
three, for example through school instruction in a
language that isn’t the mother tongue. Also called
sequential bilingualism.
DORMANT BILINGUAL A bilingual who has, in the past, acquired a command
of a second language, but who no longer uses it.
TRILINGUALISM Ability to speak/use three different languages
SEMI-LINGUALS Bilinguals who have quantitate and/or qualitative
deficiencies in their command of their languages in
comparison to a native speaker (e.g. A limited
vocabulary, incorrect grammar, etc.), implying that
they haven’t acquired a native level in any language,
with this being a disadvantageous situation.
NATIVE SPEAKER Someone who has spoken a language since early
childhood.

PROFICIENCY Someone’s skill in using a language, especially a

second language, and specifically in relation to the
four basic skills of speaking, reading, writing, and
listening.
ADQUISITION The way in which knowledge of a language is gained
through unconscious observation and exposure, as a
child learns their native language, or in a similar way
in the case of a second language. This is in contrast to
conscious, intentional ‘learning’.
INTERFERENCE And negative influence that one language system
exerts over another, and which may hinder the
learning process.
LANGUAGE ATTRITION Gradual language loss in an individual due to disuse.
This can be the loss of a mother tongue, or a second
language learnt through formal instruction.
ACCULTURATION The gradual process by which changes in an individual
or group’s language, culture, and values systems
change through interaction with a different language
and culture. This a process that often accompanies
language learning, especially in the case of immigrant
groups wishing to absorb a prevailing culture.
BORROWING When words and phrases from one language or
dialect are used and incorporated into another.
Although generally lexical, this can also occur in other
levels, for example syntactic borrowing.
HYPER-CORRECTION When, in an attempt to speak correctly/according to
socially desired norms, errors result for example, in
pronunciation, grammar, etc. This can be considered
as a manifestation of linguistic insecurity.

LANGUAGE ACADEMY Institutions that play a role in safeguarding the

standards of a given language and regulate its
evolution, for example by controlling unwanted
foreign influence in the language.
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS Private, selective, independent schools which provide
instruction in a majority language, usually English,
and which tend to be attended by children of
diplomats, business people, etc. living abroad. The
curriculum offered is different from the local one
(normally US or British).
CLIL (CONTENT AND LANGUAGE A type of second language teaching/learning in which
INTEGRATED LEARNING) the foreign language is taught through use in the
teaching of other content on the curriculum, aided by
the use of other language learning techniques.
CONTENT-BASED ESL A teaching/learning approach in which the contents
of a curriculum are taught in a foreign language, with
the hope that the language will be acquired faster
and more naturally this way.
CULTURAL AWARENESS The understanding and respect for people from
different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and the
development of intercultural sensitivity. Since culture
and language are interconnected, this may be taught
alongside or as part of language learning.

VARIETY A broad term used to refer to a sort of a language

that is considered a separate entity for some reason,
but which normally shares many common features
with a standard or other varieties. It is not considered
a different language.
DOMAIN The combination of social and situational factors that
influence the code choice of speakers (such as style,
topic, location, etc.)
DISCOURSE MARKERS Words, phrases or sounds that have no content
meaning, but which do have an important role in
marking conversational structure, signalling intention,
etc.
SPEECH ACT An utterance that that represents/serves a function
in communication and interaction, and is considered
as an ‘action’ in and of itself. Apologies, greetings,
invitations, etc. are all examples of speech acts.
LANGUAGE The three main functions of language, namely,
FUNCTIONS/FUNCTIONS OF descriptive (carry factual information); expressive
LANGUAGE (provide information about the speaker’s feelings);
and social (maintain social relations).
TURN-TAKING In conversation analysis, the fundamental
mechanisms on which conversation is based, i.e.,
conversation as a two-way happening, in which
both/all sides have the right and obligation to speak.
SYNCHRONIC VARIATION Characteristics of language variation at a given point
in time (past or present), as opposed to diachronic
variation, which refers to variation over time.
FORENSIC LINGUISTICS Also known as ‘legal linguistics’, this is a branch of
linguistics applied to contexts involving the law, crime
investigation, judicial proceedings, etc.
ETHNOGRAPHY OF Along with the ethnography of speaking, which
COMMUNICATION included the norms and rules of language in social
situations in different cultures, this also includes the
study of nonverbal aspects of communication
(distance, eye contact, etc).
ETHNOGRAPHY OF SPEAKING The study of the norms and rules of language use in
social situations in different cultures. For example, it
may study degrees of indirectness considered
appropriate, how opinions should be expressed,
greeting and thanks, etc.
ETHNOMETHODOLOGY The branch of sociology that deal with the content of
what is being said (rather than the way it is said). This
also included that which is left unsaid due to it being
considered shared knowledge or common-sense.
DISCOURSE ANALYSIS A field of research focused on the analysis of
linguistic units above the sentence level (such as texts
or conversations). Through the said analysis, the
different functions of language in social interaction
are explored.
INFORMANT A term, in empirical research, that refers to any
person who provides information to be analysed, and
is, therefore, a source of data for the researcher.
LONGITUDINAL STUDY Also called observational study, this involves the
repeated observation of the same variables and same
group of individuals over an extended period of time.
OBSERVER’S PARADOX The influence that the presence of the researcher can
have on the speaker’s linguistic choices. For example,
the speaker may unconsciously change their
pronunciation, vocabulary, or register.
PRAGMATICS The study of the use of language in communication.
i.e., the relationships between utterances and
contexts and situations in which they are used.
MACRO-SOCIOLINGUISTICS The study of aspects of sociolinguistics in relation to
large groups of speakers, for example the relationship
between sociological factors and language in areas
such as language planning, language shift, etc. This is
a type of research rather than an area of study in
itself.
MICRO-SOCIOLINGUISTICS The study of sociolinguistics in relation to small
groups of speakers, speech communities, and/or
individuals.
SOCIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE Also referred to as macro-sociolinguistics, this is the
study of the large-scale processes of interaction
between language and its use in society.
SOCIOLINGUISTIC INTERVIEW A technique used to collect speech samples to gather
information about a speaker, or group of speakers, in
a speech community. This is a qualitative methos od
research, allowing for face-to-face interaction with
the informant, and is very important to the
sociolinguist.
SOCIOLINGUISTIC RELATIVITY The acknowledgement of sociolinguistic diversity, and
the capacity to understand cultural phenomena,
including those of one’s own culture as just one of
many possible variations, instead of an assumed
reference point for what is ‘correct’ or ‘normal’.