killer language

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The phrase was first used by Anne Pakir in 1991 in reference to English.

Noun[edit]

killer language (plural killer languages)

  1. (linguistics) A dominant and prestigious language which gradually causes extinction of other, especially minor languages.
    • 2012, Danny Hieber, Mises Daily, Why Do Languages Die?‎[1]:
      It is only when the state adopts a trade language as official and, in a fit of linguistic nationalism, foists it upon its citizens, that trade languages become "killer languages."
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=killer_language&oldid=75843641"