What term describes a boundary between language regions?

• A. Isogloss
• B. Dialect
• C. Lingua franca
• D. Pidgin

Answer: (A)

An isogloss is a line on a map that marks where a particular linguistic feature occurs. It delineates boundaries between areas that share that feature and those that do not, effectively outlining language-region boundaries for that feature. These boundaries help geographers visualize how dialects or vocabularies spread across space, and multiple isoglosses can intersect to form broader language-region patterns. For example, an isogloss might separate where people use different terms for a carbonated drink or where pronunciations differ. The other terms describe languages or speech varieties themselves (dialect, lingua franca, pidgin) rather than the geographic boundary of feature usage.