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In linguistics, code-switching or language alternation occurs when a speaker alternates between two or more languages, or language varieties, in the context of a single conversation or situation [citation needed]. These alternations are generally intended to influence the relationship between the speakers, for example, suggesting that they may ...
The word nikoli, when stressed on the second syllable, means "never", when stressed on the first it is the locative case of Nikola, i.e. Nicholas; Spanish – cuando las vacas vuelen ("when cows fly") or cuando los chanchos vuelen ("when pigs fly"). Its most common use is in response to an affirmative statement, for example "I saw Mrs. Smith ...
For the second portion of the list, see List of words having different meanings in American and British English: M–Z. Asterisked (*) meanings, though found chiefly in the specified region, also have some currency in the other region; other definitions may be recognised by the other as Briticisms or Americanisms respectively. Additional usage ...
Jargon, also referred to as "technical language", is "the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group". [8] Most jargon is technical terminology (technical terms), involving terms of art [9] or industry terms, with particular meaning within a specific industry.
A group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words: “She let the cat out of the bag” or “He was caught red-handed.” Inductive teaching Also known as induction, from the verb “to induce”; a facilitative, student-centred teaching technique where the students discover language rules through extensive ...
The word mamihlapinatapai is derived from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It has been translated as "a look that without words is shared by two people who want to initiate something, but that neither will ...
Language contact may also lead to a variety of other linguistic phenomena, including language convergence, borrowing, and relexification (the replacement of much of the native vocabulary with that of another language). In situations of extreme and sustained language contact, it may lead to the formation of new mixed languages that cannot be ...
A language barrier is a figurative phrase used primarily to refer to linguistic barriers to communication, i.e. the difficulties in communication experienced by people or groups originally speaking different languages (or different dialects in some cases).