killer language

noun

Etymology

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

Definitions

  1. A dominant and prestigious language which gradually causes extinction of other,…

    A dominant and prestigious language which gradually causes extinction of other, especially minor languages.

    • 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."

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for killer language. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA