Dialect

/ˈdaɪ.əˌlɛkt/ · noun

Meaning

(linguistics, strict sense) A lect (often a regional or minority language) as part of a group or family of languages, especially if they are viewed as a single language, or if contrasted with a standardized idiom that is considered the 'true' form of the language (for example, Bavarian as contrasted with Standard German)..

Definitions by Sense

1. (linguistics, strict sense) A lect (often a regional or minority language) as part of a group or family of languages, especially if they are viewed as a single language, or if contrasted with a standardized idiom that is considered the 'true' form of the language (for example, Bavarian as contrasted with Standard German).
2. (linguistics, broad sense) A variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular area, community, or social group, differing from other varieties of the same language in relatively minor ways as regards grammar, phonology, and lexicon.
3. (derogatory) Language that is perceived as substandard or wrong.
4. (colloquial, offensive) A language existing only in an oral or non-standardized form, especially a language spoken in a developing country or an isolated region.
5. (computing, programming) A variant of a non-standardized programming language.
6. (ornithology) A variant form of the vocalizations of a bird species restricted to a certain area or population.

Example Sentences

The question could be put: 'Is there anything inherent in a dialect which gives it a negative stigma or is it that the status of the majority of the speakers is transferred to the dialect?' — something that occurs in many regions in different countries.

Comparative wordlists of two dialects of Yoruba with Igala.

Bloomfield, for example, noted that “local dialects are spoken by the peasants and the poorest people of the towns” (1933: 50) though he also thought that the lower middle class spoke 'sub-standard' speech.

Among common errors still persisting in the minds of educated people, one error which dies very hard is the theory that a dialect is an arbitrary distortion of the mother tongue, a wilful mispronunciation of the sounds, and disregard of the syntax of a standard language.

And in addition, many dialects of English make no morphological distinction between Adjectives and Adverbs, and thus use Adjectives in contexts where the standard language requires -ly Adverbs

Well, those children don't speak dialect, not in this school. Maybe in the public schools, but not here.

[…] 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."

Many even deny it and say something like this: "No, we don't speak a dialect around here.

Synonyms for dialect

Antonyms for dialect

Related Words

Word Forms

• dialects

Usage Notes

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