A dominant language may be:
*among the languages known by a
multilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
person, the one that they have greater proficiency in
*among the languages spoken in an area, the one with the greatest numbers of speakers,
prestige
Prestige may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Films
*Prestige (film), ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnett: woman travels to French Indochina to meet up with husband
*The Prestige (film), ''The Prestige'' (fi ...
or institutional support
See also
*
Linguistic imperialism
Linguistic imperialism or language imperialism is occasionally defined as "the transfer of a dominant language to other people".
Such language "transfer" (or rather unilateral imposition) comes about because of imperialism. The transfer is cons ...
*
Lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...
*
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...
*
Prestige (sociolinguistics)
Prestige in sociolinguistics is the level of regard normally accorded a specific language or dialect within a speech community, relative to other languages or dialects. Prestige varieties are language or dialect families which are generally c ...
{{disambiguation