linguistic diffusion
Words crossing borders
Linguistic diffusion is the spread of language features—words, sounds, grammatical structures—from one language or dialect to another through contact between speakers.
Languages borrow vocabulary, adopt pronunciations, or shift syntax when their speakers interact through trade, migration, conquest, or media exposure.
The spread of English loanwords into Japanese illustrates linguistic diffusion.
- borrowingTemporary taking of another's
- social networksPlatforms connecting users digitally
- language familyRelated tongues from one source
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
- native speakersThose who grew up using a language
creolization · migration patterns · trade routes · trade language · melting pot · cultural exchange · sociolinguistics · loanwords · pidginization · bilingualism · transmission · word of mouth · spread · blending · foreign influence · substrate · contact · trade
- loanwordsloanword, loan words, borrowings, borrowed words, loan word
- language changelanguage change, loan words, creolization, Great Vowel Shift, pidginization
- Bantu peoplesZulu, Xhosa, Shona, Tonga, Kongo
- Contact Languagespidgin, creole language, trade language, pidginization, relexification
linguistic diffusiongenetic inheritance
Transmission of biological traits
linguistic diffusionlinguistic isolation
Separation through unshared speech