Familects: the origin of everything

A familect is the type of inward-oriented language variety used by families. It exhibits some distinctive features compared to other more outward-oriented vernacular varieties, which result from its function in bonding and marking identity. Familects also share some characteristics with child language and child-oriented speech, as well as with forms of language play. Additionally, most of the familectal features can be found in the languages spoken by small, isolated, close-knit human groups. This commentary reviews both the idiosyncratic features of familects and their overlap with other vernacular varieties, as well as the functional explanations for them. It also argues for promoting research on this understudied variety found in all human languages, which should contribute to a better understanding of language diversity, language change, and language evolution.