Lesson 8: Languages in Contact

Question 1

language contact

Answer 1

when two or more languages or dialects come into extended contact with each other

Question 2

What are the 5 outcomes of language contact?

Answer 2

1. widespread bilingualism/codeswitching
2. selection of a lingua franca
3. language creation
4. language shift/endangerment and language death
5. borrowing of language

Question 3

lingua franca

Answer 3

any language used to enable communication between groups of people with differing native languages

Question 4

What 3 ways does language contact occur?

Answer 4

1. geography
2. conquest/war
3. trade

Question 5

adstrates

Answer 5

languages in contact have equal prestige

Question 6

superstrate

Answer 6

language of dominant group

Question 7

lexifier language

Answer 7

the input language that provides most of the basic vocabulary or lexicon

Question 8

True or False:
The superstrate is usually the lexifier language.

Answer 8

True

Question 9

substrate

Answer 9

language of the less dominant or subordinate group

Question 10

True or False:
The superstrate language typically provides most of the phonological and grammatical features.

Answer 10

False
The substrate language provides most of the phonological and grammatical features.

Question 11

pidgin language

Answer 11

simplified language used in specific interactions (business, service, trade)

Question 12

How do pidgin languages arise?

Answer 12

when speakers of mutually unintelligible languages are brought together and need to overcome the lack of a common language to communicate

Question 13

True or False:
Pidgins have no native speakers.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

True or False:
Pidgins have no grammar.

Answer 14

False
Pidgin languages have a grammar, but are often simpler than the grammar of the source language.

Question 15

creole language

Answer 15

results from a pidgin becoming a native language due to children acquiring it

Question 16

True or False:
Creole languages have more complex grammar than pidgin languages.

Answer 16

True

Question 17

What are common phonological features of pidgins and creoles?

Answer 17

• simplified consonant clusters
• stopping of fricatives
• common sounds
• not tonal

Question 18

What are common morphological features of pidgins and creoles?

Answer 18

• lack inflectional (tense/plural) morphology
• use of reduplication to indicate plural
• plural formation

Question 19

What are common syntactical features of pidgins and creoles?

Answer 19

• flexible word order
• SVO word order in Creole

Question 20

Language endangerment and language death usually occur when people ____.

Answer 20

no longer speak a particular language and adopt another language

Question 21

True or False:
There are around 1000 languages in the world.

Answer 21

False
There are 6912 languages in the world.

Question 22

True or False:
Only 5% of the world’s languages have over 1 million speakers.

Answer 22

True

Question 23

True or False:
Around 40% of human languages are on the verge of being lost.

Answer 23

False
Around 90% of human languages are on the verge of being lost.

Question 24

language death

Answer 24

when the last speaker of a language dies

Question 25

language shift

Answer 25

process by which a language community adopts another language

Question 26

In the next 10 years, there is believed to be a ____ language loss.

Answer 26

50%

Question 27

What two kinds of factors cause language death?

Answer 27

* factors that put people in danger * factors that change people's culture

Question 28

factors of language death that put people in danger

Answer 28

* natural disasters * disease * economic exploitation * political conflict

Question 29

factors of language death that change people's culture

Answer 29

* cultural assimilation * military dominance * urbanization * media * bilingualism

Question 30

What are the stages of assimilation?

Answer 30

1. pressure on people to speak the dominant language 2. younger generation shifts to dominant language 3. one generation later there is a discovery of what has been lost

Question 31

True or False: Language shift can be prevented without active language maintenance.

Answer 31

False Language shift is **inevitable** without active language maintenance.

Question 32

True or False: Language death is first preceded by a gradual loss of fluency.

Answer 32

True

Question 33

Why is WA Pidgin described as an English-lexified creole? A. It is a constructed language based on English. B. It gets most of its vocabulary items from English. C. It gets most of its grammar from English. D. It is a form of broken English.

Answer 33

B. It gets most of its vocabulary items from English.

Question 34

Which of the following are true about pidgins and creoles (select all that apply)? A. Creoles lack complexity. B. Pidgins do not have native speakers. C. There are creoles spoken in the United States. D. A pidgin becomes a creole when it becomes the official language of a country (e.g., Haitian Creole).

Answer 34

B. Pidgins do not have native speakers. C. There are creoles spoken in the United States.

Question 35

Indicate the correct statement(s) about language around the world. A. There are about 2000 languages spoken and signed. B. Some languages do not have native speakers. C. The last new language was over 1000 years ago. D. A linguistically-diverse community may adopt one language as the common language of communication (lingua franca).

Answer 35

B. Some languages do not have native speakers. D. A linguistically-diverse community may adopt one language as the common language of communication (lingua franca).

Question 36

In contact languages, substrate languages often provide phonetic and phonological features. Substrate languages typically belong to the... A. Lexifier group B. Dominant group C. Equally dominant groups D. Less dominant group

Answer 36

D. Less dominant group

Question 37

True or false: because pidgins are emergent languages, they do not have grammatical rules like other languages.

Answer 37

False

Question 38

Which areas of the world have large numbers of pidgin and creole languages? A. Africa, the Middle East, and Siberia B. North and South America C. Caribbean, West Africa, the Pacific D. Europe, North America, North Africa

Answer 38

C. Caribbean, West Africa, the Pacific

Question 39

Which of the following statements are true of language endangerment (select all that apply)? A. Most of the world's languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers. B. There are no longer Indigenous languages spoken in California. C. Languages like English, Russian, and Spanish are expected to go extinct within the next 100 years. D. Most Indigenous American languages are endangered.

Answer 39

A. Most of the world's languages have fewer than 100,000 speakers. D. Most Indigenous American languages are endangered.

Question 40

What does the video show about Singlish, an English-based creole spoken in Singapore? A. A non-standard dialect or creole can have the same range of uses as a standard language. B. Creoles should not be used in the domains of business and commerce. C. Non-standard dialects like Singlish are difficult to use in formal business settings because their impoverished lexicons. D. Creoles have a simplified grammar relative to non-creole languages.

Answer 40

A. A non-standard dialect or creole can have the same range of uses as a standard language.

Question 41

What do residential schools for Indigenous children tell us about language shift? A. Language shift results when two languages are sufficiently similar. B. Language shift can be forcefully imposed by oppressive institutions. C. Language shift is a decision made jointly by communities. D. Language shift is inevitable in situations of language contact.

Answer 41

B. Language shift can be forcefully imposed by oppressive institutions.