The Language of Home

1. code-switching

the practice of alternating between two or more languages or dialects depending on social context or audience

“At home she speaks one way; at school, another. This code-switching isn't fake — it's how she moves between worlds. (from "Two Voices")”

2. linguistic

related to language or the study of how language works

“Her linguistic abilities are invisible on paper but enormous in real life — she can shift registers in a single conversation. (from "Two Voices")”

3. dialect

a regional or social variety of a language with its own vocabulary and pronunciation patterns

“Speaking the dialect her grandmother uses at home connects her to generations before her in a way standard English never could. (from "Two Voices")”

4. articulate

able to speak fluently and clearly; sometimes used in a backhanded way to express surprise at a marginalized person's communication skills

“When she uses academic vocabulary, people are surprised she can articulate so well — as if they expected less. (from "Two Voices")”

5. heritage language

a language that a person has been exposed to at home or in their community, but may not be fully fluent in

“Her heritage language is the one her grandfather speaks when he's tired — the one that comes out when he's not thinking about being understood. (from "My Grandfather's Last Words")”

6. bilingual

able to use two languages fluently; having proficiency in two language systems

“She considers herself bilingual, though her mother says she's actually trilingual if you count the in-between language she uses at home. (from "Two Voices")”

7. nuance

a subtle difference in meaning, expression, or tone that may be difficult to detect or translate

“The nuance in her grandmother's Tagalog gets lost in translation — some words simply don't exist in English. (from "My Grandfather's Last Words")”

8. transliterate

to represent the letters or sounds of one language using the characters of another language

“Her name transliterates into English as something that looks different on paper than it sounds when spoken. (from "Two Voices")”

9. untranslatable

not able to be accurately expressed in another language without losing meaning or emotional weight

“*Kilig* is untranslatable — it describes the fluttery feeling when someone you like notices you, and no English word quite captures it. (from "My Grandfather's Last Words")”

10. fluency

the ability to speak or write a language easily, naturally, and accurately

“Her Spanish fluency at home doesn't match her Spanish fluency in school — two different registers, two different contexts. (from "Two Voices")”