Distinction From Dialect
The term dialect has two distinct meanings in linguistics. The first usage refers to a variation of a language that is characteristic of a particular group who speak the language. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class. A dialect that is associated with a particular social class can be termed a "sociolect" and a regional dialect may be termed a "regiolect" or "topolect". The second usage refers to a language socially subordinate to a regional or national standard language, often historically cognate to the standard but not a variation of it or in any other sense derived from it. A dialect is distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
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Famous quotes containing the words distinction and/or dialect:
“I want you to consider this distinction as you go forward in life. Being male is not enough; being a man is a right to be earned and an honor to be cherished. I cannot tell you how to earn that right or deserve that honor. . . but I can tell you that the formation of your manhood must be a conscious act governed by the highest vision of the man you want to be.”
—Kent Nerburn (20th century)
“The eyes of men converse as much as their tongues, with the advantage that the ocular dialect needs no dictionary, but is understood all the world over.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)