An ethnolinguistic group (or ethno-linguistic group) is a group that is unified by both a common
ethnicity and
language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
. Most ethnic groups share a
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
.
However, "ethnolinguistic" is often used to emphasise that language is a major basis for the ethnic group, especially in regard to its neighbours.
A central concept in the linguistic study of ethnolinguistic groups is ethnolinguistic vitality, the ability of the group's language and ethnicity to sustain themselves.
An ethnolinguistic group that lacks such vitality is unlikely to survive as a distinct entity. Factors that influence the ethnolinguistic vitality are demographics, institutional control and status (including language planning factors).
See also
*
First language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
*
Ethnolinguistics
*
Ethnoreligious group
*
Nation state
A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group.
A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may i ...
*
Race (human classification)
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
*
Regionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a political ideology that seeks to increase the political power, influence, and/or self-determination of the people of one or more subnational regions. It focuses on the "development of a political or social system based on one o ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*Sachdev, Itesh, and Richard Y. Bourhis. "Language and social identification." Social identity theory: Constructive and critical advances 211 (1990): 229.
*Giles, Howard, Richard Y. Bourhis, and Donald M. Taylor. "Towards a theory of language in ethnic group relations." Language, ethnicity and intergroup relations, 307348 (1977).
*Bourhis, Richard Y. "Language in ethnic interaction: A social psychological approach." Language and ethnic relations (1979): 117-141.
Sociology of language
Ethnicity
Ethnology
{{ethnology-stub