substrate (n.)

A term used in SOCIOLINGUISTICS and HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS to refer to a LINGUISTIC VARIETY or set of FORMS which has influenced the STRUCTURE or use of a more dominant variety or LANGUAGE within a community. A substrate language (linguistic substrate or substratum) is particularly evidenced when a language is imposed on a community, as a result of political or economic superiority, as can be seen in the many varieties of English spoken throughout the world which incorporate characteristics of a mother-tongue, e.g. in India, West Africa. The opposite effect is known as a SUPERSTRATUM.