dialect
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
- See Wiktionary:Dialects for the treatment of dialects on Wiktionary.
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Ancient Greek διάλεκτος (diálektos, “conversation, the language of a country or a place or a nation, the local idiom which derives from a dominant language”), from διαλέγομαι (dialégomai, “I participate in a dialogue”), from διά (diá, “inter, through”) + λέγω (légō, “I speak”).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
dialect (plural dialects)
- (linguistics) A variety of a language (specifically, often a spoken variety) that is characteristic of a particular area, community or group, often with relatively minor differences in vocabulary, style, spelling and pronunciation.
- A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.
- A dialect of a language perceived as substandard and wrong.
- Roger W. Shuy, Discovering American dialects, National Council of Teachers of English, 1967, page 1:
- Many even deny it and say something like this: "No, we don't speak a dialect around here. [...]
- Linguistic perspectives on black English, H. Carl, 1975, pg. 219:
- Well, those children don't speak dialect, not in this school. Maybe in the public schools, but not here.
- H. Nigel Thomas, Spirits in the dark, Heinemann, 1994, pg. 11:
- [...] on the second day, Miss Anderson gave the school a lecture on why it was wrong to speak dialect. She had ended by saying "Respectable people don't speak dialect."
- Roger W. Shuy, Discovering American dialects, National Council of Teachers of English, 1967, page 1:
Usage notes [edit]
- The difference between a language and a dialect is not always clear, but it is generally considered that people who speak different dialects can understand each other, while people who speak different languages cannot. Compare species in the biological sense.
Derived terms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
See also [edit]
Translations [edit]
variety of a language
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Anagrams [edit]
Dutch [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
- IPA: /ˌdijaˈlɛkt/
Noun [edit]
dialect n (plural dialecten, diminutive dialectje)
Romanian [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From French dialecte.
