The alleys or house is the building that houses the lanes for bowling.
Lanes are the wooden courses you play the game on. They are made of maple and pine though some houses are using urethane now. The lanes are maintained by constant cleaning and oiling for best action.
Gutters run along side of the lanes. If your ball ends up in one of those, it is called a gutter ball and no score is taken.
Pins are the ten bottle-shaped targets and are usually white with a red stripe at the neck. They are set at the end of the alley in a triangular pattern and are numbered by their positions with the number one pin in the front. Bowling alleys that are up to date have a lighted display above the pins showing which pins were knocked down on the last turn.
A full game consists of ten frames or ten turns. Each frame is halved in the case it takes two tries to knock all ten pins down. Sometimes that just does not happen, and then you receive a lower score.
A strike is when you knock all ten pins down in one try. This is what you strive for.
Turkey is the term for three strikes in a row.
You get a spare when it takes two tries to down all ten pins.
Splits happen when, after the ball has knocked some pins down, the ones remaining have a large gap between them. It takes good aim and some luck to bowl the rest of the pins over.
Bowling buffs use words like slide, boards, marks, dots, arrows, English, Brooklyn and form when it comes to their style of playing. Slide, English, Brooklyn and form have to do with their body motions and aim. Boards, dots, arrows and marks are visible eye-measurements on the lane where they place their feet or start their balls rolling.
Lofting the ball is more or less tossing it instead of setting it down to roll.
The lingo I have mentioned above is common to all bowling houses. There are plenty other terms used by professionals and practiced bowlers. There are even more that are unique to different bowling alleys.