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HI-LING
LINGUISTICS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL
Lesson 2: Dialectology
Dialectology is a subfield of sociolinguistics which is concerned with language variation. It focuses on dialects and accents and on how speakers of the same language sound differently based on several factors. Dialectologists look at differences in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation and initially focused on geographical distribution. But nowadays, social factors such as gender, age, and social class are also being looked at.
Key Concepts
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Dialects and Accents
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Mutual Intelligibility
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Language Variation
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Linguistic Features
UNIT 1: Dialects/Accents and Mutual Intelligibility
Both accents and dialects are influenced by the speaker's geographical location, but also their gender, age and other social influences. Accents can be seen as a subpart of dialects as they mainly concern differences in pronunciation. Dialects, on the other hand, involve differences in pronunciations as well as vocabulary and grammar. For example: the word used for a type of shoe you would wear for sports may differ depending on what dialect the speaker uses. In America, one commonly calls them sneakers, in England they are usually called trainers and in Australia they use the word runners.
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Mutual intelligibility is another very important concept to dialectologists. It is a very complex concept, but basically, it refers to the ability of speakers of different dialects to understand each other without prior familiarity or great effort. Mutual intelligibility enables speakers of different dialects and accents to communicate effectively, even though they might use different features that are specific to their dialect. You might notice this when you speak to a person with a different dialect to your own: depending on the dialect you might struggle to understand them, which then would mean that your mutual intelligibility is low.
In groups of 3–4 choose a country and think of different dialects you may know within that country. Try to answer the following questions while thinking of your example:
1. What factors influence these dialects (are they regional or based on some type of social factors such as age or gender)?
2. How do these dialects affect communication within the country?
3. Do speakers of certain dialects have mutual intelligibility with speakers of other dialects?
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There is no right or wrong answer here.
Simply discuss!
UNIT 2: Language Variation and Linguistic Features
As the discussion about dialects and accents has shown, language is variable. Even within the same language and territory, people speak differently. This variation is usually gradual. Immediate neighbours may speak slightly differently to one another, yet the further away you go, the greater the differences will get. However, language variation is not only limited to regional differences but can also encompass social factors, such as occupation, education, age, gender and even the social context in which something is said. Who you're speaking to and where you're speaking can influence the way you speak. You might notice this in the way you speak differently to your friends and your parents or other adults.
These differences in language can be seen in many linguistic features. The main linguistic features you will notice in people are:
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Pronunciation: This happens when people with varying dialects pronounce the same word differently. For example, the way someone from the United States says tomato might not be the same as someone in England says it. Someone from the US most likely will pronounce it as “tomeitou” whereas the English person might say “tomahto”.
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Vocabulary: This happens when people use different words to describe the same object or idea. For example, what some call a "biscuit," others might refer to as a "cookie."
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Grammar: This happens when people structure sentences differently. For example, if someone says, “I’ve not got it” while someone else says “I haven’t got it”.
Watch the following YouTube video and think about the following questions:
1. How are words pronounced differently by different speakers?
2. Did you notice any unique words or phrases to Scottish English?
3. Were there any differences in the structure?
Note down what you noticed and think about in what way the speaker’s regional and social background might have influenced their speech.
Further reading
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University of Sheffield (n.d.) Dialectology. Retrieved from https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/linguistics/home/all-about-linguistics/about-website/branches-linguistics/dialectology
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Zampieri, M., & Nakov, P. (Eds.). (2021). Similar Languages, Varieties, and Dialects: A Computational Perspective (Studies in Natural Language Processing). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.