Mutual intelligibility
Mutual intelligibility is an important idea in the study of languages. It describes a situation where people speaking different but related languages or dialects can understand each other easily, even if they have never met before. This happens because these languages share many words, grammar rules, and writing styles.
For example, Danish and Norwegian are two languages that come from similar roots. If someone speaks Danish and tries to understand Norwegian, or vice versa, they often find it easier because the languages are so alike. This is similar to how some people might find it easier to understand one language over another, depending on which languages they speak.
In the world of language study, mutual intelligibility helps experts decide whether something is a separate language or just a version, or dialect, of another language. It shows how connected languages can be, and how people who speak similar languages can often talk to each other without needing to learn a whole new way of speaking.
Types
Asymmetric intelligibility
Asymmetric intelligibility is when speakers of one language can understand another language more easily than the other way around. This can happen because of differences in language structure or culture. For example, people who speak Dutch often find it easier to understand Afrikaans because Afrikaans has simpler grammar rules.
Among sign languages
Sign languages are special to each country and are usually not understood by users of other sign languages, even if they look similar. They grow separately from spoken languages and have their own groups of languages. For example, British Sign Language and American Sign Language are not understood by each other because they developed in different places. The way signs are used in sign languages does not usually follow the rules of the spoken languages in the same area. For instance, American Sign Language has more in common with the structure of spoken Japanese than with English.
As a criterion for distinguishing languages
Languages spoken in Scandinavia are part of a group where people can usually understand each other. But in some areas, it is harder. Danish and Swedish don’t always understand each other well. However, people living close to the water between Denmark and Sweden, like in Malmö and Helsingborg, understand Danish a bit better because they are near Denmark.
Romance
Main article: Classification of Romance languages
It can be hard to say exactly where one language ends and another begins in some parts of Europe. One way to group languages is by how well speakers can understand each other. Here are some groups of languages that people can usually understand each other:
- Iberian Romance: Portuguese, Galician, Mirandese, Astur-Leonese, Castilian (Spanish), Aragonese;
- Occitano-Romance: Catalan, Occitan;
- Southern Romance: Sardinian;
- Gallo-Romance: Langues d'oïl (including French), Piedmontese, Franco-Provençal;
- Rhaeto-Romance: Romansh, Ladin, Friulian;
- Gallo-Italic: Piedmontese, Ligurian, Lombard, Emilian-Romagnol, Venetian;
- Italo-Dalmatian (including Italian): Corsican, Neapolitan, Sicilian, Istriot, Dalmatian (extinct);
- Eastern Romance: Daco-Romanian, Istro-Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian.
South Slavic
Main article: South Slavic languages
Some dialects of Serbo-Croatian, like Kajkavian, Chakavian, and Torlakian, are very different from the main versions of the language. These dialects can understand each other and other languages differently. For example, Torlakian, a type of Serbian dialect, can understand Macedonian and Bulgarian quite well.
List of mutually intelligible languages
Afroasiatic
Main article: Afroasiatic languages
Atlantic–Congo
Main article: Atlantic–Congo languages
- Kinyarwanda and Kirundi
- Luganda and Lusoga
- Nkore and Kiga
- Zulu, Northern Ndebele, Xhosa, Swazi, Southern Ndebele
Austronesian
Main article: Austronesian languages
- Banjarese, Berau Malay, and Brunei Malay
- Iban and Malay, especially with Sarawakian Malay
- Tokelauan, Samoan, and Tuvaluan
- Tagalog and Kasiguranin
- Maranao and Iranun
Indo-European
Main article: Indo-European languages
Germanic
Main article: Germanic languages
- Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish
- Dutch and Afrikaans
- Dutch and Frisian
- Dutch and German
- German and Hutterite German
- German and Frisian
- German and Luxembourgish
- German and Yiddish
- German and Plautdietsch
- German and Low German
- German and Pennsylvania Dutch
- English and Scots
- English, Manglish, and Singlish
Romance
Main article: Romance languages
Speakers of Romance languages may understand each other, even if their languages are different.
- Portuguese and Galician
- Occitan and Catalan
- Romanian, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian and Istro-Romanian
- Spanish and Italian
- Spanish and Judaeo-Spanish
- Spanish and Portuguese
Slavic Languages
Main article: Slavic languages
Speakers of Slavic languages can sometimes understand each other.
East Slavic
Main article: East Slavic languages
- Belarusian and Ukrainian
- Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian
South Slavic
Main article: South Slavic languages
- Macedonian and Bulgarian
- Macedonian, Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian
- Slovene and Serbo-Croatian
West Slavic
Main article: West Slavic languages
Other subdivisions
- Irish and Scottish Gaelic
- Marathi and certain dialects of Konkani
Kra-Dai
Main article: Kra-Dai languages
- Central Thai, Lao/Isan, Northern Thai, Shan and Tai Lue
Sino-Tibetan
Main article: Sino-Tibetan languages
- Akha, Honi and Hani
- Dungan and Mandarin, especially with Central Plains Mandarin
Turkic
Main article: Turkic languages
- Azerbaijani, Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Turkish and Urum
- Uzbek and Uyghur
Uralic
Main article: Uralic languages
Tungusic
Main article: Tungusic languages
List of dialects or varieties sometimes considered separate languages
See also: Language secessionism and Pluricentric language
Some languages have different forms that people often think are separate languages, but speakers can usually understand each other easily. For example:
- Catalan: Valencian – These two forms are very similar and people who speak them can understand each other well. Both names are officially recognized.
- Hindustani: Hindi and Urdu. Hindi uses the Devanagari writing system, while Urdu uses the Perso-Arabic script.
- Malay: Indonesian, Brunei, and Malaysian – These forms are mostly easy to understand each other, even though there are some differences in words. However, everyday speech between these countries can be harder to understand.
- Northeastern Neo-Aramaic: Some forms can understand each other, but others, especially in the same town, can be harder to follow.
- Persian: Iranian Persian, Dari, and Tajik – Persian and Dari use the Perso-Arabic script, while Tajik uses the Cyrillic script.
- Serbo-Croatian: Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian – These forms are very similar and people can usually understand each other, even though some people think of them as different languages.
- Sukhothai: Central Thai and Southern Thai – These forms share many words, but differences in sounds can make understanding each other a bit harder.
- Chittagonian: Rohingya – These two forms have similar structures but use different words because of their unique histories and cultures.
Keep exploring
This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Mutual intelligibility, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.