Summary

 Dialects

1.    Dialects

Every person has a unique way of speaking, called an idiolect. The language used by a group of speakers is a dialect. The dialects of a language are the mutually intelligible forms of that language that differ in systematic ways from each other. Dialects develop because languages change, and the changes that occur in one group or area may differ from those that occur in another. Regional dialects and social dialects develop for this reason. Each version of the language is referred to as a regional dialect. 

     Some differences in U.S. regional dialects may be traced to the dialects spoken by colonial settlers from England. The study of regional dialects has produced dialect atlases, with dialect maps showing the areas where specific dialect characteristics occur in the speech of the region. A boundary line called an isogloss delineates each area.

·         Phonological and Lexical Differences

Dialect differences include phonological or pronunciation differences (often called accents), vocabulary distinctions, and syntactic rule differences. The grammar differences among dialects are not as great as the similarities, thus permitting speakers of different dialects to communicate.

The “Standard”.

A standard dialect (or prestige dialect) of a particular language may have social functions. Its use in a group may bind people together or provide a common written form for multidialectal speakers. Although this particular dialect is not linguistically superior, some language purists consider it the only correct form of the language. Such a view has led to the idea that some nonstandard dialects are deficient, as is erroneously suggested regarding African American English.

·         Codeswitching 

Is shifting between languages within a single sentence or discourse by a bilingual speaker. It reflects both grammars working simultaneously and does not represent a form of “broken” English or Spanish or whatever language.

Attempts to legislate the use of a particular dialect or language have been made throughout history and exist today, even extending to banning the use of languages other than the preferred one.

 

·         Lingua Franca

In areas where many languages are spoken, one language may become a lingua franca to ease communication among people.

2.    Language and Education

The study of language has important implications for education especially as regards reading instruction and the teaching of second language learners, language-minority students, and speakers of nonstandard dialects.

·         Second-Language Teaching Methods

Several second-language teaching methods have been proposed for adult second language learners. Some of them focus more on the grammatical aspects of the target language, and others focus more on getting students to communicate in the target language, with less regard for grammatical accuracy. Writing and reading, unlike speaking and understanding, must be taught.

Three methods of teaching reading have been used in the United States: wholeword, whole-language, and phonics.

Bilingual education programs are designed to help achieve these multiple aims by teaching children literacy and content material in their native language while they are acquiring English.

3.    Styles

Besides regional and social dialects, speakers may use different styles, or registers, depending on the context.

·         Slang, Jargon and Argot

Slang is not often used in formal situations or writing but is widely used in speech; argot and jargon refer to the unique vocabularies used by particular groups of people to facilitate communication, provide a means of bonding, and exclude outsiders.

·         Euphemisms

Taboo words and acts give rise to euphemisms, which are words or phrases that replace the expressions to be avoided.

·         Secret Languages and Language Games

The invention or construction of secret languages and language games like Pig Latin attest to human creativity with language and the unconscious knowledge that speakers have of the phonological, morphological, and semantic rules of their language.