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Linguistics & Grammar vocabulary · Sociolinguistics

Dialect

Meaning in linguistics & grammar, with examples

/ˈdaɪəlekt/nounCore term

In linguistics & grammar, dialect means: A variety of a language used by speakers in a particular region or social group, with its own vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation.

In Turkish: ağız, lehçe, diyalekt

How it is used

Linguists use dialect neutrally: everyone speaks a dialect, including the standard one. Dialect covers grammar and words, while accent refers only to pronunciation. Whether a variety is called a dialect or a language is often a political decision.

Example sentences

  1. In some northern English dialects, 'bairn' means child.

  2. Her fieldwork recorded the Black Sea dialect spoken in villages near Trabzon.

Common collocations

  • regional dialect
  • social dialect
  • local dialect
  • speak a dialect
  • dialect continuum
  • accentA way of pronouncing a language that shows where a speaker comes from, such as their region, social group or first language, as in a Scottish or a Turkish accent.
  • standard languageThe variety of a language used in education, government, the media and dictionaries, and generally accepted as the norm for formal writing.
  • sociolinguisticsThe study of how language varies and changes with society: how age, region, social class, gender and situation shape the way people speak.
  • registerA variety of language used for a particular situation or purpose, from formal to informal, such as academic writing, legal language or chatting with friends.

More terms: Sociolinguistics

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