Editing Mutual intelligibility

{{Short description|Closeness of linguistic varieties}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}

In [[linguistics]], '''mutual intelligibility''' is a relationship between different but related [[Variety (linguistics)|language varieties]] in which speakers of the different varieties can readily understand each other without prior familiarity or special effort. Mutual intelligibility is sometimes used to distinguish languages from [[dialect]]s, although [[sociolinguistics|sociolinguistic]] factors are often also used.

{{Quote box
| title = Comparing Czech and Slovak languages
| quote = {{unbulleted list
  | '''English''' | I love drinking [[Beer in Slovakia|Slovak beer]] and eating Czech [[Smažený sýr|fried cheese]].
  | [[Czech language|'''Czech''']] | {{lang|cs|Rád piju [[Beer in Slovakia|slovenské pivo]] a jím český [[smažený sýr]].}}
  | [[Slovak language|'''Slovak''']] | {{lang|sk|Rád pijem [[Beer in Slovakia|slovenské pivo]] a jem český [[vyprážaný syr]].}}
}}
Both Czech and Slovak have a long history of interaction and share vocabulary, grammatical and orthographic features. 
| width = 400px
}}

Intelligibility between varieties can be asymmetric; that is, speakers of one variety may be able to better understand another than vice versa. An example of this is the case between [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. It is generally easier for Dutch speakers to understand Afrikaans than for Afrikaans speakers to understand Dutch. (See {{section link|Afrikaans#Mutual intelligibility with Dutch}}.)

In a [[dialect continuum]], neighbouring varieties are mutually intelligible, but differences mount with distance, so that more widely separated varieties may not be mutually intelligible. Intelligibility can be partial, as is the case with [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]] and [[Turkish language|Turkish]], or significant, as is the case with [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]. 

==Types==
===Asymmetric intelligibility===
Asymmetric intelligibility refers to two languages that are considered partially mutually intelligible, but for various reasons, one group of speakers has more difficulty understanding the other language than the other way around. For example, if one language is related to another but has simplified its [[grammar]], the speakers of the original language may understand the simplified language, but not vice versa. To illustrate, [[Dutch language|Dutch]] speakers tend to find it easier to understand [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] as a result of Afrikaans's simplified grammar.<ref name="gooskens"/>

===Among sign languages===
{{Further|Sign language#Classification}}
[[Sign language]]s are not universal and usually not mutually intelligible,<ref>{{cite web | publisher = Linguistic society |title= What is Sign Language?|url= https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-sign-language|access-date=10 March 2018|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195125/https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-sign-language|archive-date=13 February 2018}}</ref> although there are also similarities among different sign languages. Sign languages are independent of [[spoken language]]s and follow their own linguistic development. For example, [[British Sign Language]] and [[American Sign Language]] (ASL) are quite different linguistically and mutually unintelligible. The grammar of sign languages does not usually resemble that of the spoken languages used in the same geographical area. To illustrate, in terms of [[syntax]], ASL shares more in common with spoken [[Japanese language|Japanese]] than with [[English language|English]].<ref>[[Karen Nakamura|Nakamura, Karen]]. (1995). "About American Sign Language." Deaf Resource Library, Yale University. [http://www.deaflibrary.org/asl.html]</ref>

==As a criterion for distinguishing languages==
{{Further|#List of dialects or varieties sometimes considered separate languages}}
Some linguists use mutual intelligibility as the primary ''linguistic'' criterion for determining whether two speech varieties represent the same or different languages.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gröschel |first=Bernhard| author-link=Bernhard Gröschel |year=2009 |language=de |title=Das Serbokroatische zwischen Linguistik und Politik: mit einer Bibliographie zum postjugoslavischen Sprachenstreit |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian Between Linguistics and Politics: With a Bibliography of the Post-Yugoslav Language Dispute |series=Lincom Studies in Slavic Linguistics; vol 34 |location=Munich |publisher=Lincom Europa |pages=132–136 |isbn=978-3-929075-79-3 |oclc=428012015 |lccn=2009473660 |ol=15295665W}}</ref><ref name=KordiJin/><ref>See e.g. P.H. Matthews, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics'', OUP 2007, p. 103.; W. Abraham (ed.), ''Terminologie zur neueren Linguistik'', Tübingen 1974, p. 411; T. Lewandowski, ''Linguistisches Wörterbuch'', Heidelberg/Wiesbaden (5th ed.) 1990, pp. 994–995; L. Campbell, ''Historical linguistics. An introduction'', Edinburgh 1998, p. 165; G. Mounin, ''Schlüssel zur Linguistik'', Hamburg, 1978, p. 55; U. Ammon, "Language – Variety/Standard Variety – Dialect", U. Ammon et al (ed.), ''Sociolinguistics / Soziolinguistik. An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society / Ein internationales Handbuch zur Wissenschaft von Sprache und Gesellschaft'', Berlin/New York 1987, p. 324; D. Crystal, ''A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics'', Oxford (4th ed) 1997, 2003, p. 286.</ref>

A primary challenge to this position is that speakers of closely related languages can often communicate with each other effectively if they choose to do so. In the case of transparently cognate languages recognized as distinct such as Spanish and Italian, mutual intelligibility is in principle and in practice not binary (simply yes or no), but occurs in varying degrees, subject to numerous variables specific to individual speakers in the context of the communication.

Classifications may also shift for reasons external to the languages themselves. As an example, in the case of a linear [[dialect continuum]], the central varieties may [[Extinct language|become extinct]], leaving only the varieties at both ends. Consequently, these end varieties may be reclassified as two languages, even though no significant linguistic change has occurred within the two extremes during the extinction of the central varieties.

Furthermore, political and social conventions often override considerations of mutual intelligibility. For example, the [[varieties of Chinese]] are often considered a single language, even though there is usually no mutual intelligibility between geographically separated varieties. This is similarly the case among the [[varieties of Arabic]], which also share a single [[prestige variety]] in [[Modern Standard Arabic]]. In contrast, there is often significant intelligibility between different [[North Germanic languages]]. However, because there are various [[standard language|standard form]]s of the North Germanic languages, they are classified as separate languages.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Chambers|first1=J.K.|author-link1=Jack Chambers (linguist)|last2=Trudgill|first2=Peter|author-link2=Peter Trudgill|title=Dialectology|publisher=Cambridge University Press|edition=2nd|year=1998|isbn=978-0-521-59646-6|pages=3–4}}</ref>

It is often claimed by linguists that mutual intelligibility is completely gradual{{clarification needed|date=May 2025}} and thus not very useful as a criterion for demarcating boundaries between languages (unless they are separated by a clear [[language border]]), but a 2021 study<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tamburelli |first1=Marco |title=Taking taxonomy seriously in Linguistics: intelligibility as a criterion of demarcation between languages and dialects. |journal=Lingua |date=June 2021 |volume=256 |issue=103068 |doi=10.1016/j.lingua.2021.103068 |url=https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/researchoutputs/taking-taxonomy-seriously-in-linguistics-intelligibility-as-a-criterion-of-demarcation-between-languages-and-dialects(7e404197-2caf-420c-84c5-258b31df3297).html |issn=0024-3841}}</ref> provides evidence against this view.

==Within dialect continua==
{{Excerpt|Dialect continuum|paragraphs=1,2|bold=no|only=paragraph}}

===North Germanic===
{{Main|North Germanic languages#Mutual intelligibility}}
Northern Germanic languages spoken in Scandinavia form a [[dialect continuum]] where the two furthermost dialects have almost no mutual intelligibility. As such, spoken [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]] normally have low mutual intelligibility,<ref name="gooskens"/> but Swedes in the [[Öresund]] region (including [[Malmö]] and [[Helsingborg]]), across the strait from the Danish capital [[Copenhagen]], understand Danish somewhat better, largely due to the proximity of the region to Danish-speaking areas. While Norway was under [[Denmark–Norway|Danish rule]], the [[Bokmål]] written standard of Norwegian developed from [[Dano-Norwegian]], a [[koiné language]] that evolved among the urban elite in Norwegian cities during the later years of the union. Additionally, Norwegian assimilated a considerable amount of Danish [[vocabulary]] as well as traditional Danish expressions.<ref name="gooskens">{{cite journal|url=http://www.let.rug.nl/gooskens/pdf/publ_JMMD_2007.pdf |title=The Contribution of Linguistic Factors to the Intelligibility of Closely Related Languages |first=Charlotte|last=Gooskens |journal=Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development|volume=28|issue=6|year=2007 |access-date=2010-05-19|doi=10.2167/jmmd511.0|page=445|citeseerx=10.1.1.414.7645 |s2cid=18875358 }}</ref>  As a consequence, spoken mutual intelligibility is not reciprocal.<ref name=gooskens/>

===Romance===
{{Main|Classification of Romance languages}}
Because of the difficulty of imposing boundaries on a continuum, various counts of the [[Romance languages]] are given. For example, in ''The Linguasphere register of the world's languages and speech communities'', David Dalby lists 23 languages based on mutual intelligibility:<ref>David Dalby, 1999/2000, ''The Linguasphere register of the world's languages and speech communities.'' Observatoire Linguistique, Linguasphere Press. Volume 2, p. 390-410 (zone 51). Oxford.[http://www.linguasphere.info/lcontao/tl_files/pdf/master/OL-SITE%201999-2000%20MASTER%20ONE%20Sectors%205-Zones%2050-54.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140827110429/http://www.linguasphere.info/lcontao/tl_files/pdf/master/OL-SITE%201999-2000%20MASTER%20ONE%20Sectors%205-Zones%2050-54.pdf|date=2014-08-27}}</ref>
* [[Iberian Romance languages|Iberian Romance]]: [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[Galician language|Galician]], [[Mirandese language|Mirandese]], [[Astur-Leonese languages|Astur-Leonese]], [[Spanish language|Castilian]], [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]];
* [[Occitano-Romance languages|Occitano-Romance]]: [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Occitan language|Occitan]];
* [[Southern Romance]]: [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]];
* [[Gallo-Romance languages|Gallo-Romance]]: [[Langues d'oïl]] (including [[French language|French]]), Piedmontese, [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]];
* [[Rhaeto-Romance languages|Rhaeto-Romance]]: [[Romansh language|Romansh]], [[Ladin language|Ladin]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]];
* [[Gallo-Italic languages|Gallo-Italic]]: [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]], [[Ligurian (Romance language)|Ligurian]], [[Lombard language|Lombard]], [[Emilian-Romagnol language|Emilian-Romagnol]], [[Venetian language|Venetian]];
* [[Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Dalmatian]] (including [[Italian language|Italian]]): [[Corsican language|Corsican]], [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]], [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], [[Istriot language|Istriot]], [[Dalmatian language|Dalmatian]] (extinct);
* [[Eastern Romance languages|Eastern Romance]]: [[Romanian language|Daco-Romanian]], [[Istro-Romanian language|Istro-Romanian]], [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]], [[Megleno-Romanian language|Megleno-Romanian]].

===South Slavic===
{{Main|South Slavic languages}}
The non-standard vernacular dialects of [[Serbo-Croatian]] ([[Kajkavian dialect|Kajkavian]], [[Chakavian dialect|Chakavian]] and [[Torlakian dialect|Torlakian]]) diverge more significantly from all four normative varieties of Serbo-Croatian. Their mutual intelligibility varies greatly between the dialects themselves, with the standard [[Shtokavian dialect]], and with other languages. For example, Torlakian, which is considered a subdialect of Serbian [[Old Shtokavian]], has significant mutual intelligibility with [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]].<ref name=Bul20>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7-Bees_VvAC&q=%D0%97%D0%B0+%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0+%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0+%D0%BD%D0%B0+%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD+%D1%80%D1%8A%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81+%D0%BE%D1%82+18+%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA,+%D0%B2:+%D0%91%D1%8A%D0%BB%D0%B3%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D1%8F%D1%82+%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA+%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B7+%D0%A5%D0%A5+%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA&pg=PA280|title=Българският език през ХХ век|first=Василка|last=Радева|date=15 July 2018|publisher=Pensoft Publishers|via=Google Books|isbn=9789546421135}}</ref>

==List of mutually intelligible languages==
<!-- Entries are grouped by language family. Please only add an example if you can cite a reliable source to support it.
     Any information that does not have a source cited will be deleted. -->

===Afroasiatic===
{{Main|Afroasiatic languages}}
* [[Tunisian Arabic]] and [[Libyan Arabic]] (68–70% of sentences)<ref name="Maltese-Arabic"/>
* [[Tunisian Arabic]] and [[Maltese language|Maltese]] (32–33% of sentences; Maltese is written with the [[Latin script]], while Tunisian Arabic is written with the [[Arabic script]])<ref name="Maltese-Arabic">{{Cite journal|last1=Čéplö|first1=Slavomír|last2=Bátora|first2=Ján|last3=Benkato|first3=Adam|last4=Milička|first4=Jiří|last5=Pereira|first5=Christophe|last6=Zemánek|first6=Petr|date=2016-01-01|title=Mutual intelligibility of spoken Maltese, Libyan Arabic, and Tunisian Arabic functionally tested: A pilot study|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/flin-2016-0021|journal=Folia Linguistica|volume=50|issue=2|doi=10.1515/flin-2016-0021|s2cid=151878153|issn=0165-4004|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

===Atlantic–Congo===
{{Main|Atlantic–Congo languages}}
* [[Kinyarwanda]] and [[Kirundi]]<ref>{{Ethnologue22|kin|Kinyarwanda}}</ref>
* [[Luganda]] and [[Soga language|Lusoga]] (partially)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hyman |first=Larry |url=https://zenodo.org/records/3972850 |title=Syntactic architecture and its consequences I: Syntax inside the grammar |date=2020-09-15 |publisher=Language Science Press |isbn=978-3-96110-275-4 |edition=1st |location=Berlin |pages=253–276 |language=en |chapter=In search of prosodic domains in Lusoga}}</ref>
* [[Nkore language|Nkore]] and [[Kiga language|Kiga]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Poletto |first=Robert E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JTheGwAACAAJ |title=Topics in RuNyankore Phonology |date=1998 |publisher=Ohio State University |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Zulu language|Zulu]], [[Northern Ndebele language|Northern Ndebele]] (partially),<ref name=Angogo>{{cite web|last=Angogo|first=Rachel|title=LANGUAGE AND POLITICS IN SOUTH AFRICA|url=http://elanguage.net/journals/sal/article/viewFile/1038/1099|work=Studies in African Linguistics Volume 9, Number 2|publisher=elanguage.net|access-date=30 September 2013}}</ref> [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] (partially),<ref name=Angogo/> and [[Swazi language|Swazi]] (partially)<ref name=Angogo/>

===Austronesian===
{{Main|Austronesian languages}}
* [[Iban language|Iban]] and [[Malay language|Malay]], especially with [[Sarawakian Malay]] (partially)<ref name="ANU Press">{{Cite book |title=The Austronesians: Historical and Comparative Perspectives |date=2006 |publisher=ANU Press |isbn=978-1-920942-85-4 |editor-last=Bellwood |editor-first=Peter |location=Canberra |language=en |doi=10.22459/a.09.2006 |editor-last2=Fox |editor-first2=James J. |editor-last3=Tryon |editor-first3=Darrell |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* [[Tokelauan language|Tokelauan]] and [[Tuvaluan language|Tuvaluan]]<ref>{{Ethnologue22|tkl|Tokelauan}}</ref><ref>{{Ethnologue22|tvl|Tuvaluan}}</ref>
* [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] and [[Kasiguranin]] (partially)
* [[Maranao language|Maranao]] and [[Iranun language|Iranun]]

===Indo-European===
{{Main|Indo-European languages}}

====Germanic====
{{Main|Germanic languages}}
* [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]<ref name="DanNorSve">{{cite journal|last=Bø|first=I|year=1976|title=Ungdom og naboland : en undersøkelse av skolens og fjernsynets betydning for nabospråkforståelsen|journal=Rogalandsforskning|volume=4}}</ref> (significantly and asymmetrically)<ref name="gooskens"/>
* [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[Afrikaans]] (significantly and asymmetrically)<ref name="gooskens"/><ref>{{cite journal | first1=C. |last1=Gooskens |first2=R. |last2=Van Bezooijen |title=Mutual Comprehensibility of Written Afrikaans and Dutch: Symmetrical or Asymmetrical? |journal=Literary and Linguistic Computing |volume=21 |issue=4 |year=2006 |pages=543–557 |doi=10.1093/llc/fql036 |url=https://www.let.rug.nl/~gooskens/pdf/publ_litlingcomp_2006b.pdf }}</ref>
* [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] (partially)<ref name="gooskens"/>
* [[German language|German]] and [[Yiddish]] (partially)<ref name="DeuYid">{{cite book|last=Avrum Ehrlich|first=Mark|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoPZu79hqaEC&q=German+and+Yiddish+mutual+intelligibility&pg=PA192|title=Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: origins, experience and culture, Volume 1|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2009|isbn=978-1-85109-873-6|page=192}}</ref>
* [[English language|English]] and [[Scots language|Scots]] (significantly)
* [[English language|English]], [[Manglish]], and [[Singlish]] (the latter two being English-based creoles)

====Romance====
{{Main|Romance languages}}
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Galician language|Galician]] (significantly)<ref>{{cite journal |last=Beswick |first=Jaine |year=2005 |title=Linguistic homogeneity in Galician and Portuguese borderland communities| journal=Estudios de Sociolingüística |volume=6 |issue=1| pages=39–64}}</ref>
* [[Romanian language|Romanian]], [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]], [[Megleno-Romanian language|Megleno-Romanian]] and [[Istro-Romanian language|Istro-Romanian]] (significantly)<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9083828/Romanian-language Romanian language – Britannica Online Encyclopedia]</ref>
* [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Italian language|Italian]] (partially) <ref name=Voigt2014>{{cite news |title=Mutual Intelligibility of Closely Related Languages within the Romance language family| page=113 | last=Voigt | first=Stefanie | year=2014 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330032214/https://www.linguistics.fi/contact/Book_of_abstracts_10.7.2014.pdf#page=114}}</ref>
* [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Judaeo-Spanish]] (spoken or written in the Latin alphabet; Judaeo-Spanish may also be written in the Hebrew alphabet). Depending on dialect and the number of non-Spanish loanwords used.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tomić |first1=Olga Mišeska |title=Balkan Syntax and Semantics |date=2004 |publisher=John Benjamins Publishing |isbn=978-90-272-2790-4 |page=461 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYoWE_tNKNQC&q=Judeo-Spanish+intelligibility&pg=PA461 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Faingold |first1=Eduardo D. |title=Child Language, Creolization, and Historical Change: Spanish in Contact with Portuguese |date=1996 |publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag |isbn=978-3-8233-4715-6 |page=110 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AHN1EMi1UqEC&q=Judeo-Spanish+intelligibility&pg=PA110 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Working Papers of the Linguistics Circle of the University of Victoria: WPLC. |date=1997 |publisher=WPLC, Department of Linguistics, University of Victoria |page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=heobAQAAIAAJ&q=Ladino+Spanish+intelligibility |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ben-Ur |first1=Aviva |last2=Levy |first2=Louis Nissim |title=A Ladino Legacy: The Judeo-Spanish Collection of Louis N. Levy |date=2001 |publisher=Alexander Books |isbn=978-1-57090-160-7 |page=10 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9QWAQAAIAAJ&q=Ladino+Spanish+intelligibility |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Comparison of Portuguese and Spanish|Spanish and Portuguese]] (significantly and asymmetrically)<ref name=Voigt2014/>

====Eastern Slavic====
{{Main|East Slavic languages}}
* [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] (very significantly) 
* [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] and [[Russian language|Russian]] (partially and asymmetrically)<ref name=BlrRusUkr>{{cite book |first=Alexander M. |last=Schenker  |year=1993  |chapter=Proto-Slavonic |title=The Slavonic Languages |publisher=Routledge  |pp=60–121  |quote-page=60 |quote=[The] distinction between dialect and language being blurred, there can be no unanimity on this issue in all instances...}}<br/>{{cite book |first1=C.F. |last1=Voegelin |first2=F.M. |last2=Voegelin  |year=1977  |title=Classification and Index of the World's Languages |publisher=Elsevier  |quote-page=311 |quote=In terms of immediate mutual intelligibility, the East Slavic zone is a single language.}}<br/>{{cite book |first=Bernard |last=Comrie  |year=1981  |title=The Languages of the Soviet Union |publisher=Cambridge  |quote-pages=145–146 |quote=The three East Slavonic languages are very close to one another, with very high rates of mutual intelligibility... The separation of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belorussian as distinct languages is relatively recent... Many Ukrainians in fact speak a mixture of Ukrainian and Russian, finding it difficult to keep the two languages apart...}}</ref>

====Southern Slavic====
{{Main|South Slavic languages}}
* [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] (significantly)<ref name=BulMac>[http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=42 Language profile Macedonian] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311172655/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=42&menu=004 |date=2009-03-11 }}, UCLA International Institute</ref>
* [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] and [[Serbo-Croatian]] (moderately to significantly)<ref name="Macedonian language">[http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=42 Macedonian language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311172655/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=42&menu=004 |date=2009-03-11 }} on UCLA</ref>
* [[Slovene language|Slovene]] and [[Serbo-Croatian]] (partially)<ref>{{cite book|last=Kordić|first=Snježana|author-link=Snježana Kordić|editor-last1=Nomachi|editor-first1=Motoki|editor-link1=Motoki Nomachi|editor-last2=Kamusella|editor-first2=Tomasz|editor-link2=Tomasz Kamusella|title=Languages and Nationalism Instead of Empires|publisher=[[Routledge]]|series=Routledge Histories of Central and Eastern Europe|pages=167{{hyphen}}179|chapter=Ideology Against Language: The Current Situation in South Slavic Countries|chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372202077|chapter-format=PDF|location=London|year=2024|doi=10.4324/9781003034025-11|doi-access=|isbn=978-0-367-47191-0|lccn=|oclc=1390118985|s2cid=259576119|s2cid-access=|ssrn=4680766|ssrn-access=free|id={{COBISS.SR|125229577}}. {{COBISS|171014403}}|archive-url=https://archive.org/details/kordic-ideology-against-language&nbsp;|archive-date=2024-01-10|access-date=2024-01-21|quote=In the Slavic area, there is one instance of a significant asymmetric intelligibility: Slovenians understand Croats better (79.4%) than Croats understand Slovenians (43.7%).|quote-page=174|url-status=live}}</ref>

====West Slavic====
{{Main|West Slavic languages}}
* [[Czech language|Czech]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] (significantly)<ref name=CzeSlo>{{cite book |title=Speaking from the Margin: Global English from a European Perspective |chapter=Glocalisation and the Ausbau sociolinguistics of modern Europe |last=Trudgill |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Trudgill |editor1-last=Duszak |editor1-first=Anna |editor2-last=Okulska |editor2-first=Urszula |publisher=Peter Lang |series=Polish Studies in English Language and Literature 11 |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8204-7328-4}}</ref>

* [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Czech language|Czech]] (partially and asymmetrically)<ref name=enc>{{cite book |first1=E. K.|last1=Brown |first2=R. E.|last2=Asher |first3=J. M. Y.|last3=Simpson |title= Encyclopedia of language & linguistics |date= 2006 |isbn = 978-0-08-044299-0 |publisher= Elsevier |page = 647 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1D8OAQAAMAAJ |language = en}}</ref>
* [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[Slovak language|Slovak]] (reasonably to partially)<ref name=CzeSlo/><ref name=khannan>{{cite book|author = Kevin Hannan |title= Borders of Language and Identity in Teschen Silesia |date= 1996 |isbn = 978-0-8204-3365-3 |publisher= Peter Lang |page = 3 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=pdFiAAAAMAAJ |language= en}}</ref>

====Other subdivisions====
* [[Irish language|Irish]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]] (partially)<ref>{{cite book| title=International Handbook of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education|author=Christina Bratt Paulston|page=110|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xG9_cN9Ndy8C&pg=PA110|isbn=9780313244841|year=1988|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic }}</ref>
* [[Marathi language|Marathi]] and certain dialects of [[Konkani language|Konkani]] (significantly)<ref>{{Cite web|title=How Konkani Won the Battle for 'Languagehood'|url=https://www.meertens.knaw.nl/ss17/contributions/abstract.php?paperID=271|access-date=2021-06-01|website=www.meertens.knaw.nl}}</ref>

===Kra-Dai===
{{Main|Kra-Dai languages}}
* [[Thai language|Central Thai]], [[Lao language|Lao]]/[[Isan language|Isan]], [[Northern Thai language|Northern Thai]], [[Shan language|Shan]] and [[Tai Lue language|Tai Lue]]<ref name=ThaiLao>{{cite web|url=http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/messeas/node3.html|title=Ausbau and Abstand languages|website=ccat.sas.upenn.edu}}</ref>

===Sino-Tibetan===
{{Main|Sino-Tibetan languages}}
* [[Akha language|Akha]], [[Honi language|Honi]] and [[Hani language|Hani]] (variety of different written scripts)<ref name="Katsura">{{cite journal|last1=Katsura|first1=M.|date=1973|title=Phonemes of the Alu Dialect of Akha|journal=Papers in Southeast Asian Linguistics No.3|volume=3|issue=3|pages=35–54}}</ref>
* [[Dungan language|Dungan]] and [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]], especially with [[Central Plains Mandarin]]<ref name="dungan">{{cite journal|last=Rimsky-Korsakoff Dyer|first=Svetlana|year=1977|title=Soviet Dungan nationalism: a few comments on their origin and language|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZoNCAAAAYAAJ&q=shivaza|journal=Monumenta Serica|volume=33|pages=349–362|doi=10.1080/02549948.1977.11745054|access-date=2011-02-15|url-access=subscription}} p. 351.</ref>

===Turkic===
{{Main|Turkic languages}}
* [[Azerbaijani language|Azerbaijani]], [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]], [[Gagauz language|Gagauz]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]] and [[Urum language|Urum]]<ref name="refHülyakasapoğluçengel">Kasapoğlu Çengel, Hülya (2004). [http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/HALKBILIM/hulya_kasapoglu_cengel_urum_turkleri_folklor.pdf Ukrayna'daki Urum Türkleri ve Folkloru]. Milli Folklor, 2004, Yıl. 16, S. 16, s. 59</ref> (partially)<ref name=innerAsia>{{cite book|last=Sinor|first=Denis|title=Inner Asia. History-Civilization-Languages. A syllabus|year=1969|publisher=Bloomington|isbn=978-0-87750-081-0|pages=71–96|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vn-xZ3O1G-cC&pg=PA71}}</ref>
* [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] and [[Uyghur language|Uyghur]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://ceeres.uchicago.edu/languages/uzbek | title=Uzbek – the Center for East European and Russian/Eurasian Studies }}</ref>
<!--* [[Karakalpak language|Karakalpak]], [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] and [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]]{{snd}}The [[British Academy]] is funding a research project dedicated to examining mutual intelligibility between Karakalpak, Kazakh and Uzbek languages at the [[University of Surrey]]. If statistically significant evidence suggesting that the three languages are mutually intelligible arises when the project concludes in March 2025, this entry can be added to the list with the given reference as a citation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Morpho-syntax of mutual intelligibility in the Turkic languages of Central Asia - Surrey Morphology Group |url=https://www.smg.surrey.ac.uk/projects/mutual-intelligibility/ |access-date=2022-12-15 |website=www.smg.surrey.ac.uk}}</ref>-->

===Uralic===
{{Main|Uralic languages}}
* [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]] (partially)<ref name="Katzner105">{{cite book |title=The languages of the world|page=105 | last=Katzner| first=Kenneth |author-link= Kenneth Katzner| year=2002 | publisher=Routledge| isbn=978-0-415-25003-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hfZKnQnnYCsC&q=estonian+finnish+mutual+intelligibility&pg=PA105}}</ref>
* [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Karelian language|Karelian]] (significantly)<ref>{{cite book |title=The Finno-Ugric republics and the Russian state|page=100 | last=Taagepera| first=Rein | year=1999| publisher=Routledge| isbn=978-0-415-91977-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGqWcZu42hUC&q=karelian+finnish+mutual+intelligibility&pg=PA100}}</ref>

===Tungusic===
* [[Manchu language|Manchu]] and [[Xibe language|Xibe]]<ref>{{Ethnologue22|sjo|Xibe}}</ref>

==List of dialects or varieties sometimes considered separate languages==
{{See also|Language secessionism|Pluricentric language}}
* '''[[Catalan language|Catalan]]''': [[Valencian language|Valencian]]{{snd}}the standard forms are structurally the same language and share the vast majority of their vocabulary, and hence highly mutually intelligible. They are not considered separate languages and both names -Valencian and Catalan- are officially recognized.<ref>[https://www.avl.gva.es/documents/31983/0/Dictamen%2Bsobre%2Bels%2Bprincipis%2Bi%2Bcriteris%2Bper%2Ba%2Bla%2Bdefensa%2Bde%2Bla%2Bdenominaci%25C3%25B3%2Bi%2Bl%25E2%2580%2599entitat%2Bdel%2Bvalenci%25C3%25A0&ved=2ahUKEwi00qew5bKMAxV9_7sIHfuiHEUQFnoECCUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw063EncXSOxibvWEwGwKU80''"Acord de l’Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL), adoptat en la reunió plenària del 9 de febrer del 2005, pel qual s’aprova el dictamen sobre els principis i criteris per a la defensa de la denominació i l’entitat del valencià"''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217124928/http://www.avl.gva.es/img/EdicionsPublicacions/AcordsGenerals/NOMENTITAT.pdf |date=2008-12-17 }}. Report from [[Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua]] about denomination and identity of Valencian.</ref>
* '''[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]''': [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]]<ref name=HinUrd>{{cite journal |last=Gumperz |first=John J. |title=Language Problems in the Rural Development of North India |journal=The Journal of Asian Studies |volume=16 |issue=2 |date=February 1957 |pages=251–259 |doi=10.2307/2941382|jstor=2941382 |s2cid=163197752 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
* '''[[Malay language|Malay]]''': [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] (the standard regulated by [[Indonesia]]),<ref name=IndMal>{{cite book |title=Learner English: a teacher's guide to interference and other problems |page=279 |last=Swan |first=Michael |year=2001 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-77939-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UIuWj9fQfQC&q=Indonesian+and+Malay+mutual+intelligibility&pg=PA279}}</ref> [[Brunei language|Brunei]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 July 2022 |title=Majlis Bahasa Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia (MABBIM) |trans-title=Malaysian language |url=https://lamanweb.dbp.gov.my/majlis-bahasa-brunei-darussalam-indonesia-malaysia-mabbim/ |archive-date= |access-date=6 February 2023 |website=Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka}}</ref> and [[Malaysian language|Malaysian]] (the standard used in [[Malaysia]] and [[Singapore]]). Both varieties are based on the same material basis and hence are generally [[Comparison of Standard Malay and Indonesian|mutually intelligible]], despite the numerous lexical differences.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtWdhQ7vc6kC&q=Indonesian+Malaysian+Malay+differences&pg=PA71|title=The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagascar|last1=Adelaar|first1=K. Alexander|last2=Himmelmann|first2=Nikolaus|date=2013-03-07|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781136755095|language=en}}</ref> Certain linguistic sources also treat the two standards on equal standing as varieties of the same Malay language.<ref>An example of equal treatment of Malaysian and Indonesian: the ''Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu'' database from the [[Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka]] has a "Istilah [[Majlis Bahasa Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia|MABBIM]]" section dedicated to documenting Malaysian, Indonesian and Bruneian official terminologies: [http://prpm.dbp.gov.my/Cari1?keyword=language&d=286464&#LIHATSINI see example]</ref> However, vernacular or less formal varieties spoken between these two countries share limited intelligibility, evidenced by Malaysians having difficulties understanding Indonesian [[soap opera|''sinetron'' (soap opera)]] aired on their TV stations (which actually uses a colloquial offshoot heavily influenced by [[Betawi language|Betawi]] vernacular of [[Jakarta]]<ref>{{cite conference |page=194 |first1=John |last1=Bowden |title=Towards an account of information structure in Colloquial Jakarta Indonesian |url=http://repository.tufs.ac.jp/handle/10108/75995 |conference=Proceedings of the International Workshop on Information Structure of Austronesian Languages, 10 April 2014 |publisher=Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies}}</ref> rather than the formal standard acquired in academical contexts) and vice versa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/10/25/indonesianmalay-mutual-intelligibility.html|first= Setiono|last= Sugiharto|title=Indonesian-Malay mutual intelligibility?|date=25 October 2008|access-date=6 December 2019}}{{registration required}}</ref> 
* '''[[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]]''' (NENA): NENA is a [[dialect continuum]], with some dialects being mutually intelligible and others not.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gutman |first1=Ariel |title=Attributive constructions in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic |date=2018 |publisher=Language Science Press |isbn=978-3-96110-081-1 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=80BaDwAAQBAJ&q=NENA+Aramaic+intelligibility&pg=PA1 |language=en}}</ref> While [[Zakho Jewish Neo-Aramaic]] and [[Zakho Christian Neo-Aramaic]] are mutually intelligible, especially on the eastern edge of the continuum (in Iran), Jewish and Christian NENA varieties spoken in the same town are not mutually intelligible.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hauenschild |first1=Ingeborg |last2=Kellner-Heinkele |first2=Barbara |last3=Kappler |first3=Matthias |title=Eine hundertblättrige Tulpe - Bir ṣadbarg lāla: Festgabe für Claus Schönig |date=2020 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-220924-0 |page=361 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_rT8DwAAQBAJ&q=NENA+Aramaic+intelligibility&pg=PA361 |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sabar |first1=Yona |title=A Jewish Neo-Aramaic Dictionary: Dialects of Amidya, Dihok, Nerwa and Zakho, Northwestern Iraq : Based on Old and New Manuscripts, Oral and Written Bible Translations, Folkloric Texts, and Diverse Spoken Registers, with an Introduction to Grammar and Semantics, and an Index of Talmudic Words which Have Reflexes in Jewish Neo-Aramaic |date=2002 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-04557-5 |page=4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ygzh_tRZ7NMC&q=NENA+Aramaic+intelligibility&pg=PA4 |language=en}}</ref>
* '''[[Persian language|Persian]]''': [[Iranian Persian]] (natively simply known as Persian), [[Dari]] and [[Tajik language|Tajik]]{{snd}}Persian and Dari are written in [[Perso-Arabic script]], while Tajik is written in [[Cyrillic script]].<ref name=DariPersianTajik>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/2005_817_17g_Beeman.pdf|title=Dari/Persian/Tajik languages}}</ref>
* '''[[Serbo-Croatian]]''': [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Montenegrin language|Montenegrin]], and [[Serbian language|Serbian]]{{snd}}the national varieties are structurally the same language, all constituting normative varieties of the [[Shtokavian]] dialect, and hence mutually intelligible,<ref name=KordiJin>{{cite book|last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |year=2010 |language=sh |title=Jezik i nacionalizam |trans-title=Language and Nationalism |url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf |url-status=live |series=Rotulus Universitas |location=Zagreb |publisher=Durieux |pages=101–108 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3467646 |isbn=978-953-188-311-5 |lccn=2011520778 |oclc=729837512 |ol=15270636W |id={{CROSBI|475567}} |archive-date=1 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601175359/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf |access-date=3 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Mader Skender|first=Mia|title=Die kroatische Standardsprache auf dem Weg zur Ausbausprache|language=German|trans-title=The Croatian standard language on the way to ausbau language|chapter=Schlussbemerkung|trans-chapter=Summary|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/215815/|format=PDF|publisher=University of Zurich, Faculty of Arts, Institute of Slavonic Studies|series=UZH Dissertations|pages=196–197|location=Zurich|year=2022|doi=10.5167/uzh-215815 |accessdate=8 June 2022|type=Dissertation |quote=Serben, Kroaten, Bosnier und Montenegriner immer noch auf ihren jeweiligen Nationalsprachen unterhalten und problemlos verständigen. Nur schon diese Tatsache zeigt, dass es sich immer noch um eine polyzentrische Sprache mit verschiedenen Varietäten handelt.}}</ref> spoken and written (if the [[Latin alphabet]] is used).<ref>{{cite book|last=Šipka|first=Danko|author-link=Danko Sipka|year=2019|title=Lexical layers of identity: words, meaning, and culture in the Slavic languages|location=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=166|doi=10.1017/9781108685795|isbn=978-953-313-086-6|s2cid=150383965|lccn=2018048005 |oclc=1061308790|quote=lexical differences between the ethnic variants are extremely limited, even when compared with those between closely related Slavic languages (such as standard Czech and Slovak, Bulgarian and Macedonian), and grammatical differences are even less pronounced. More importantly, complete understanding between the ethnic variants of the standard language makes translation and second language teaching impossible}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |editor1-last=Krause |editor1-first= Marion |editor2-last=Sappok |editor2-first=Christian |title=Slavistische Linguistik 2002: Referate des XXVIII. Konstanzer Slavistischen Arbeitstreffens, Bochum 10.-12. September 2002 |series=Slavistishe Beiträge; vol. 434 |publisher= Otto Sagner |pages=110–114 |language=de |chapter=Pro und kontra: "Serbokroatisch" heute |trans-chapter=Pro and contra: "Serbo-Croatian" nowadays |chapter-url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430499.PRO_UND_KONTRA_SERBOKROATISCH.PDF |location=Munich |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-87690-885-4 |oclc=56198470 |ssrn=3434516 |id={{CROSBI|430499}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601174051/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430499.PRO_UND_KONTRA_SERBOKROATISCH.PDF|url-status=live|archive-date=1 June 2012|url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430499.PRO_UND_KONTRA_SERBOKROATISCH.PDF }} [http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AC05094207 (ÖNB)].</ref> For political reasons, they are sometimes considered distinct languages.<ref>{{cite book|title=Language and identity in the Balkans: Serbo-Croatian and its disintegration |page=14 |last=Greenberg |first=Robert David |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-925815-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZvDJQHaUZkC&q=renamed+these+classes&pg=PA13}}</ref>
* '''Sukhothai''': [[Thai language|Central Thai]], [[Southern Thai language|Southern Thai]]

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Dialect levelling]]
* [[Lexical similarity]]
* [[Lingua franca]]
* [[Multilingualism]]
* [[Non-convergent discourse]]
* [[Sister language]]
 {{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | title = Dialect intelligibility testing | given = Eugene H. | surname = Casad | publisher = [[Summer Institute of Linguistics]] | year = 1974 | isbn = 978-0-88312-040-8 | url = https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/8863 }}
* {{cite book | chapter = Experimental methods for measuring intelligibility of closely related language varieties | given = Charlotte | surname = Gooskens | pages = 195–213 | chapter-url = http://www.let.rug.nl/gooskens/pdf/publ_handbook_of_sociolinguistics_2013.pdf | title = The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics | editor1-given = Robert | editor1-surname = Bayley | editor2-given = Richard | editor2-surname = Cameron | editor3-given = Ceil| editor3-surname = Lucas|editor-link3=Ceil Lucas | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-0-19-974408-4 }}
* {{cite journal | title = Mutual intelligibility between closely related languages in Europe | given1 = Charlotte | surname1 = Gooskens | given2 = Vincent J. | surname2 = van Heuven | given3 = Jelena | surname3 = Golubović | given4 = Anja | surname4 = Schüppert | given5 = Femke | surname5 = Swarte | given6 = Stefanie | surname6 = Voigt | journal = International Journal of Multilingualism | volume = 15 | issue = 2 | pages = 169–193 | year = 2017 | doi = 10.1080/14790718.2017.1350185 | s2cid = 54519054 | url = https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/56810/Gooskens_Heuven_etal_IJM2017.pdf?sequence=1 | doi-access = free }}
* {{cite journal | title = Dialects as Optimal Communication Networks | given = Joseph E. | surname = Grimes | journal = Language | volume = 50 | number = 2 | year = 1974 | pages = 260–269 | jstor = 412437 | doi = 10.2307/412437 }}

==External links==
* [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/540/langdial/node2.html Harold Schiffman, "Linguists' Definition: mutual intelligibility"]. [[University of Pennsylvania]].

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mutual Intelligibility}}
[[Category:Language varieties and styles]]
[[Category:Comparative linguistics]]
[[Category:Dialectology]]