Mutual intelligibility refers to the extent that speakers of related languages or dialects can understand each other without special training. It is sometimes used as a criterion to distinguish languages from dialects, with dialects being mutually intelligible and languages not. However, this characterization is problematic, as some languages like Scandinavian tongues are mutually intelligible while some dialects of languages like German are not. Degree of mutual intelligibility and non-linguistic political/historical factors can also influence whether related varieties are considered languages or dialects. Mutual intelligibility is not an absolute criterion.

2. 1- definition
what is mutual intelligibility
2 – Problems
1_The characterisation of LANGUAGE & DIALECT
2_Degree of Mutual Intelligibility
3_Nonlingustic Criteria
3-Conclusion

3. Linguistic criterion:
Mutual intelligibility
YES? = dialects
e.g., British vs. American vs. Irish vs. Australian
(= dialects of English)
NO? = languages
e.g.,Arabic vs. Franch vs. English
(= different languages)

4. The first person who had used the term mutual intelligibility was
Peter Trudgill in his book “Sociolinguistics : an Introduction” in
1974.
Mutual intelligibility is the extent to which speakers from two or
more speech communities can understand each other.
It is a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers
of different but related languages can readily understand each other
without intentional study or extraordinary effort.

5. It is sometimes used as a criterion for distinguishing languages
from dialects.
“ A language is a collection of mutually intelligible dialects”.
This definition has the benefit of characterising dialects as
subparts of a language and of providing a criterion for
distinguishing between one language and another.

6. NORWEGIAN:language spoken in Norway
SWEDISH:language spoken in Sweden
DANISH:language spoken in Denmark
1. The characterisation of „language‟ and „dialect‟ is not
entirely successful.
Scandinavian languages: Norwegian, Swedish and Danish
( different languages but there is a mutual intelligibility between them)
German is concedered as a single language but there are some
types of German which are not intelligible to speakers of other
types.

7. 2 . Degree of mutual intelligibility
Dialect continuum: when each dialect is intelligible with
contiguous neighbour but not intelligible with the dialects at
the opposite end of the continuum.
1 2 … 5 … 8 9 10
e.g. Northern Arabic vs Kuwait Arabic
As we move leftward differences increase and mutual
intilligibility decrease.

8. Dialect continuum:
A quote from Stephen Anderson in one of the
articles on the Linguistic Society of America (LSA)
website:
“Suppose you were to start from Berlin and walk to Amsterdam,
covering about ten miles every day. You can be sure that the people
who provided your breakfast each morning could understand (and be
understood by) the people who served you supper that evening.
Nonetheless, the German speakers at the beginning of your trip and
the Dutch speakers at its end would have much more trouble, and
certainly think of themselves as speaking two quite distinct (if
related) languages.”

9. 3 . Nonlinguistic criteria (political, historical, geographic etc.) may
play a role.
e.g, Mandarin, Cantonese = mutually unintelligible, but considered
dialects of Chinese
Serbian and Croatian = mutually intelligible, but considered
separate languages

10. • People do not want to recognize that they can understand each other.
eg,
A study carried out in Africa shows that one ethnic group A claimed to be
able to understand the language of another ethnic group B, ethnic group
B claimed not to be able to understand language A. It then emerged that
group A, a larger and more powerful group, wanted to incorporate group
B‟s territory into their own on the grounds that they were really the same
people and spoke the same language. Clearly, group B‟s failure to
comprehend group A‟s language was part of their resistance to this
attempted takeover.

11. Mutual intelligibility
a criterion used to distinguish between languages
and dialects but it is not always efficient
1. 2. 3.
The
Degree of Nonlinguistic
characterisation
of „language‟ mutual criteria may
and „dialect‟ is
intelligibility. play a role.
not successful.