Nyelvekig

Nyelvekig is a theoretical construct used in linguistics to describe a boundary or continuum between single-language competence and multilingual competence in both speakers and computational models. It refers to the extent to which linguistic representations and processing are shared across languages, and to the point at which cross-language transfer becomes pervasive. The term is used mainly in speculative or theoretical discussions about language learning, bilingual education, and multilingual natural language processing.

Etymology and scope: The coinage blends the Hungarian nyelv, meaning language, with the suffix -ig, used here metaphorically to indicate an upper bound or limit. Nyelvekig is not tied to a single empirical framework; rather, it serves as a conceptual lens for comparing how integrated or modular language knowledge may become across different contexts and modalities.

Applications: In cognitive linguistics, nyelvekig provides a shorthand for talking about how knowledge of one language might influence learning or processing in another. In artificial intelligence and NLP, the concept frames discussions of shared latent spaces, parameter sharing, and transfer learning across multilingual models.

Criticism: Some scholars regard nyelvekig as vague or redundant with established notions such as cross-linguistic transfer, typological distance, or shared representations. Without precise metrics or operational definitions, its utility depends on clear, communicable criteria for what constitutes movement along the boundary it describes.

See also: multilingualism, cross-linguistic transfer, transfer learning, polyglot.