dialect

== English == === Etymology === From Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectos, dialectus, 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, “to participate in a dialogue”), from διά (diá, “inter, through”) + λέγω (légō, “to speak”); by surface analysis, dia- +‎ -lect. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈdaɪ.əˌlɛkt/ (General Australian) IPA(key): /ˈdɑe.əˌlekt/ (New Zealand) IPA(key): [ˈdɑe̯.əˌlekt] === Noun === dialect (plural dialects) (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). Synonym: (often derogatory) patois (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. Hyponyms: sociolect, ethnolect, genderlect, regiolect, topolect, geolect, vernacular (derogatory) Language that is perceived as substandard or wrong. (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. Synonym: vernacular (computing, programming) A variant of a non-standardized programming language. (ornithology) A variant form of the vocalizations of a bird species restricted to a certain area or population. ==== Usage notes ==== In some linguistic traditions, the term "dialect" is restricted to nonstandard lects. In scholarly English usage, it refers to both standardized and vernacular forms of language. The difference between a language and a dialect is not always clear, and often has more to do with political boundaries than with linguistic differences. It is generally considered that people who speak different dialects of the same language can understand each other, while people who speak different languages cannot; however, in some cases, people who speak different dialects of the same language are mutually unintelligible. Compare species in the biological sense. ==== Hyponyms ==== ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === === References === === Further reading === Raymond Williams (1983), “Dialect”, in Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, revised American edition, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, published 1985, →ISBN, page 105. Crystal, David (2008), “dialect”, in A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics, 6 edition, Blackwell Publishing, →ISBN Fodde Melis, Luisanna; (2002), Race, Ethnicity and Dialects: Language Policy and Ethnic Minorities in the United States, FrancoAngeli, →ISBN === Anagrams === citadel, dactile, deltaic, edictal, lactide == Dutch == === Etymology === From Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectos, dialectus, 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, “to participate in a dialogue”), from διά (diá, “inter, through”) + λέγω (légō, “to speak”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌdijaːˈlɛkt/ Hyphenation: di‧a‧lect Rhymes: -ɛkt === Noun === dialect n (plural dialecten, diminutive dialectje n) (linguistics) dialect (language variety) non-standard dialect; vernacular Synonyms: streektaal, mondaard ==== Derived terms ==== dialectgroep ==== Descendants ==== Afrikaans: dialek → Indonesian: dialek → Papiamentu: dialèkt === Anagrams === citadel == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French dialecte. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /di.aˈlekt/ === Noun === dialect n (plural dialecte) (linguistics) language socially subordinate to a regional or national standard language, often historically cognate to the standard, but not a variety of it or in any other sense derived from it (colloquial) dialect ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== subdialect ==== See also ==== idiom, grai, limbaj, limbă === Further reading === “dialect”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026