Editing Dialect continuum

{{short description|Geographic range of dialects that vary more strongly at the distant ends}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}} 
{{more citations needed|date=May 2016}}
{{linguistics}}

A '''dialect continuum''' or '''dialect chain''' is a series of [[Variety (linguistics)|language varieties]] spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]], but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varieties may not be.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics |given=David |surname=Crystal |publisher=Blackwell |edition=6th |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-405-15296-9 |page=144 }}</ref> This is a typical occurrence with widely spread languages and language families around the world, when these languages did not spread recently. Some prominent examples include the [[Indo-Aryan languages]] across large parts of [[India]], [[varieties of Arabic]] across north Africa and southwest Asia, the [[Turkic languages]], the [[varieties of Chinese]], and parts of the [[Romance languages|Romance]], [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] and [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] families in Europe. Terms used in older literature include '''dialect area''' ([[Leonard Bloomfield]])<ref>{{cite book |given=Leonard |surname=Bloomfield |author-link=Leonard Bloomfield |title=Language |year=1935 |publisher=George Allen & Unwin |location=London |page=51}}</ref> and '''L-complex''' ([[Charles F. Hockett]]).<ref>{{cite book | given = Charles F. | surname =Hockett | author-link = Charles F. Hockett | title = A Course in Modern Linguistics | url = https://archive.org/details/courseinmodernli0000hock | url-access = registration | publisher = Macmillan | location = New York | year = 1958 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/courseinmodernli0000hock/page/324 324–325] }}</ref>

Dialect continua typically occur in long-settled agrarian populations, as innovations spread from their various points of origin as [[wave model|waves]]. In this situation, hierarchical classifications of varieties are impractical. Instead, [[Dialectology|dialectologists]] map variation of various language features across a dialect continuum, drawing lines called [[isogloss]]es between areas that differ with respect to some feature.<ref>{{cite book
  | last1 = Chambers | first1 = J.K. | author-link1 = Jack Chambers (linguist)
  | last2 = Trudgill | first2 = Peter | author-link2 = Peter Trudgill
  | title = Dialectology
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press | edition = 2nd | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-0-521-59646-6
  | pages = 13–19, 89–91
}}</ref>

A variety within a dialect continuum may be developed and codified as a [[standard language]], and then serve as an authority for part of the continuum, e.g. within a particular political unit or geographical area.
Since the early 20th century, the increasing dominance of [[nation-states]] and their standard languages has been steadily eliminating the nonstandard dialects that comprise dialect continua, making the boundaries ever more abrupt and well-defined.

== Dialect geography ==
[[File:Aujourd'hui.JPG|thumb|right|Part of map 72 of the ''[[Atlas linguistique de la France]]'', recording local forms meaning "today"]]
Dialectologists record variation across a dialect continuum using maps of various features collected in a [[linguistic atlas]], beginning with an atlas of [[German dialects]] by [[Georg Wenker]] (from 1888), based on a postal survey of schoolmasters. The influential ''[[Atlas linguistique de la France]]'' (1902–10) pioneered the use of a trained fieldworker.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=15–17}} These atlases typically consist of ''display maps'', each showing local forms of a particular item at the survey locations.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=25}}

Secondary studies may include ''interpretive maps'', showing the areal distribution of various variants.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=25}} A common tool in these maps is an [[isogloss]], a line separating areas where different variants of a particular feature predominate.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=27}}

In a dialect continuum, isoglosses for different features are typically spread out, reflecting the gradual transition between varieties.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=93–94}} A bundle of coinciding isoglosses indicates a stronger dialect boundary, as might occur at geographical obstacles or long-standing political boundaries.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=94–95}} In other cases, intersecting isoglosses and more complex patterns are found.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=91–93}}

== Relationship with standard varieties ==
{{main|Autonomy and heteronomy (sociolinguistics)}}
[[File:West Germanic dialect diagram.svg|thumb|right|upright=2|Local dialects of the West Germanic continuum are oriented towards either Standard Dutch or Standard German, depending on which side of the international border they are spoken.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=10}}]]
[[Standard language|Standard varieties]] may be developed and codified at one or more locations in a continuum until they have independent cultural status (autonomy), a process the [[Germany|German]] linguist [[Heinz Kloss]] called ''[[abstand and ausbau languages|ausbau]]''. Speakers of local varieties typically read and write a related standard variety, use it for official purposes, hear it on radio and television, and consider it the standard form of their speech, so that any standardizing changes in their speech are towards that variety. In such cases the local variety is said to be dependent on, or heteronomous with respect to, the standard variety.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=9–12}}

A standard variety together with its dependent varieties is commonly considered a "language", with the dependent varieties called "dialects" of the language, even if the standard is mutually intelligible with another standard from the same continuum.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = William A. | last = Stewart | author-link = William Alexander Stewart
  | chapter = A sociolinguistic typology for describing national multilingualism
  | pages = 531–545 | doi = 10.1515/9783110805376.531
  | editor-first = Joshua A. | editor-last = Fishman
  | title = Readings in the Sociology of Language
  | publisher = De Gruyter | year = 1968
  | isbn = 978-3-11-080537-6
}}</ref>{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=11}} The [[North Germanic language|Scandinavian languages]], [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]], are often cited as examples.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|pp=3–4}} Conversely, a language defined in this way may include local varieties that are mutually unintelligible, such as the [[German dialects]].{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=4}}

The choice of standard is often determined by a political boundary, which may cut across a dialect continuum.
As a result, speakers on either side of the boundary may use almost identical varieties, but treat them as dependent on different standards, and thus part of different "languages".{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=9}}
The various local dialects then tend to be leveled towards their respective standard varieties, disrupting the previous dialect continuum.<ref>{{cite book
  | first = Curt | last = Woolhiser
  | chapter = Border effects in European dialect continua: dialect divergence and convergence
  | pages = 501–523
  | title = The Languages and Linguistics of Europe: A Comprehensive Guide
  | editor1-first = Bernd | editor1-last = Kortmann
  | editor2-first = Johan | editor2-last = van der Auwera
  | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 2011
  | isbn = 978-3-11-022025-4
}} p. 501.</ref>
Examples include the boundaries between [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[German language|German]], between [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Polish language|Polish]], and between [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]].<ref>Woolhiser (2011), pp. 507, 516–517.</ref><ref>{{cite book
  | first = Peter | last = Trudgill
  | chapter = Norwegian as a Normal Language
  | chapter-url = http://www.sprakradet.no/Vi-og-vart/Om-oss/English-and-other-languages/English/Norwegian_as_a_Normal_Language/
  | pages = 151–158
  | title = Language Contact and Language Conflict
  | editor-first = Unn | editor-last = Røyneland
  | publisher = Volda College | year = 1997
  | isbn = 978-82-7661-078-9
}} p. 152.</ref>

The choice may be a matter of national, regional or religious identity, and may be controversial.
Examples of controversies are regions such as the disputed territory of [[Kashmir]], in which local [[Muslim]]s usually regard their language as [[Urdu]], the national standard of [[Pakistan]], while [[Hinduism|Hindus]] regard the same speech as [[Hindi]], an official standard of [[India]]. Even so, the [[Languages with official status in India|Eighth Schedule]] to the Indian Constitution contains [[Languages with official status in India#Scheduled languages of the Indian Constitution|a list of 22 scheduled languages]] and Urdu is among them.

During the time of the former [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia]], a standard was developed from local varieties of [[Eastern South Slavic]], within a continuum with [[Torlakian]] to the north and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] to the east. The standard was based on varieties that were most different from standard Bulgarian. Now known as [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], it is the national standard of [[North Macedonia]], but viewed by Bulgarians as a dialect of Bulgarian.<ref>{{cite journal
  | last = Trudgill | first = Peter
  | title = Ausbau sociolinguistics and the perception of language status in contemporary Europe
  | journal = International Journal of Applied Linguistics
  | year = 1992 | volume = 2 | number = 2 | pages = 167–177
  | doi = 10.1111/j.1473-4192.1992.tb00031.x
  }} pp. 173–174.</ref>

==Europe==

[[File:Dialect continua in Europe.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|Major dialect continua in Europe in the mid-20th century{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=6}}{{efn|[[Carpathian Ruthenia]] is mistakenly excluded from North Slavic on the map, even though [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], an East Slavic dialect group on the transition to West Slavic, is spoken there.}}]]

Europe provides several examples of dialect continua, the largest of which involve the [[Germanic languages|Germanic]], [[Romance languages|Romance]] and [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] branches of the [[Indo-European language family]], the continent's largest language branches.

The Romance area spanned much of the territory of the [[Roman Empire]] but was split into western and eastern portions by the [[Slav Migrations]] into the Balkans in the 7th and 8th centuries.

The Slavic area was in turn split by the [[Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin]] in the 9th and 10th centuries.

=== Germanic languages ===
[[File:West Germanic dialect continuum (according to Wiesinger, Heeringa & König).png|350px|thumb|The varieties of the continental West Germanic dialect continuum after 1945:<ref>W. Heeringa: ''Measuring Dialect Pronunciation Differences using Levenshtein Distance.'' University of Groningen, 2009, pp. 232–234.</ref><ref>Peter Wiesinger: ''Die Einteilung der deutschen Dialekte.'' In: Werner Besch, Ulrich Knoop, Wolfgang Putschke, Herbert Ernst Wiegand (Hrsg.): ''Dialektologie. Ein Handbuch zur deutschen und allgemeinen Dialektforschung,'' 2.&nbsp;Halbband. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1983, ISBN 3-11-009571-8, pp. 807–900.</ref><ref>Werner König: ''dtv-Atlas Deutsche Sprache.'' 19. Auflage. dtv, München 2019, {{isbn|978-3-423-03025-0}}, pp. 230.</ref><ref>C. Giesbers: ''Dialecten op de grens van twee talen.'' Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen, 2008, pp. 233.</ref>

{{legend|#df772a|[[Frisian languages|Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#8c506e|[[Low Franconian]]}}
{{legend|#3e9abc|[[Low Saxon]]/[[Low German]]}}
{{legend|#f5ef47| [[Central German]] (part of [[High German languages|High German]])}}
{{legend|#ecca09| [[Upper German]] (part of [[High German languages|High German]])}}]]

==== North Germanic continuum ====

The [[Norwegian dialects|Norwegian]], [[Danish dialects|Danish]] and [[Swedish dialects]] comprise a classic example of a dialect continuum, encompassing Norway, Denmark, Sweden and coastal parts of Finland. The Continental North Germanic standard languages ([[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Danish language|Danish]] and [[Swedish language|Swedish]]) are close enough and intelligible enough for some {{Who|date=July 2024}} to consider them to be dialects of the same language, but the Insular ones ([[Faroese language|Faroese]] and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]) are not immediately intelligible to the other North Germanic speakers.

==== Continental West Germanic continuum ====

Historically, the [[Dutch dialects|Dutch]], [[Frisian languages|Frisian]], [[Low German|Low Saxon]] and  [[German dialects|High German dialects]] formed a canonical dialect continuum, which has been gradually falling apart since the [[Late Middle Ages]] due to the pressures of modern education, standard languages, migration and weakening knowledge of the dialects.<ref name="Niebaum">{{cite book | chapter = Het Oostnederlandse taallandschap tot het begin van de 19de eeuw
| given = Herman | surname = Niebaum | pages = 52–64
| title = Handboek Nedersaksische taal- en letterkunde
| editor-given = Jurgen | editor-surname = Van der Kooij
| publisher = Van Gorcum | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-90-232-4329-8
}} p. 54.</ref>

The transition from German dialects to Dutch variants followed two basic routes: 
* From [[Central German]] to Southeastern Dutch ([[Limburgish]]) in the so-called [[Rhenish fan]], an area corresponding largely to the modern [[Lower Rhine region|Niederrhein]] in which gradual but geographically compact changes took place.{{sfnp|Chambers|Trudgill|1998|p=92}}
* From Low Saxon{{efn|In this context, "A group of related dialects of [[Low German]], spoken in northern Germany and parts of the Netherlands, formerly also in Denmark." (Definition from [[wikt:Low Saxon|Wiktionary]])}} to Northwestern Dutch ([[Hollandic]]): This sub-continuum also included [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] dialects up until the 17th century, but faced external pressure from [[Standard Dutch]] and, after the collapse of the [[Hanseatic League]], from [[Standard German]] which greatly influenced the vocabularies of these border dialects.<ref name="Niebaum"/>

Though the internal dialect continua of both Dutch and German remain largely intact, the continuum which historically connected the Dutch, Frisian and German languages has largely disintegrated. Fragmentary areas of the Dutch-German border in which language change is more gradual than in other sections or a higher degree of [[mutual intelligibility]] is present still exist, such as the [[Aachen]]-[[Kerkrade]] area, but the historical chain in which dialects were only divided by minor isoglosses and negligible differences in vocabulary has seen a rapid and ever-increasing decline since the 1850s.<ref name="Niebaum"/>

[[Standard Dutch]] was based on the dialects of the principal [[Brabantian dialect|Brabantic]] and [[Hollandic dialect|Hollandic]] cities. The written form of [[Standard German]] originated in the [[East Central German]] used at the [[Chancery (medieval office)|chancery]] of the [[kingdom of Saxony]], while the spoken form emerged later, based on North German pronunciations of the written standard.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Carol |last1=Henriksen |first2=Johan |last2=van der Auwera |pages=1–18 |title=The Germanic Languages |editor1-first=Ekkehard |editor1-last=König |editor2-first=Johan |editor2-last=van der Auwera |publisher=Routledge |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-415-05768-4 }} p. 11.</ref> Being based on widely separated dialects, the Dutch and German standards do not show a high degree of [[mutual intelligibility]] when spoken and only partially so when written. One study concluded that, when concerning written language, Dutch speakers could translate 50.2% of the provided German words correctly, while the German subjects were able to translate 41.9% of the Dutch equivalents correctly. In terms of orthography, 22% of the vocabulary of Dutch and German is identical or near-identical.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Cross-border intelligibility – on the intelligibility of Low German among speakers of Danish and Dutch |pages=273–295 |chapter-url=http://www.let.rug.nl/gooskens/pdf/publ_ZDL_2009b.pdf |last1=Gooskens |first1=Charlotte |last2=Kürschner |first2=Sebastian |editor1-last=Lenz |editor1-first=Alexandra N. |editor2-last=Gooskens |editor2-first=Charlotte |editor3-last=Reker |editor3-first=Siemon |title=Low Saxon dialects across borders – Niedersächsische Dialekte über Grenzen hinweg |location=Stuttgart |publisher=Steiner |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-515-09372-9 }}</ref><ref>Gooskens & Heeringa (2004)</ref>

==== Anglic continuum ====
The [[Anglic languages|Germanic dialects spoken on the island of Great Britain]] comprise areal varieties of English in England and of [[Scots language|Scots]] in Scotland. Those of large areas north and south of the border are often mutually intelligible. In contrast, the [[Orcadian dialect]] of Scots is very different from the dialects of [[English in southern England]]—but they are linked by a chain of intermediate varieties.

=== Romance languages ===
====Western Romance continuum====
[[File:Romance languages accurate.png|thumb|300x300px|Romance languages in Europe]]
The western continuum of [[Romance languages]] comprises, from West to East: in Portugal, [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]; in Spain, [[Galician language|Galician]], [[Leonese language|Leonese]] or [[Asturian language|Asturian]], Castilian or [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Aragonese language|Aragonese]] and [[Catalan Language|Catalan]] or [[Valencian language|Valencian]]; in France, [[Occitan Language|Occitan]], [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]], standard [[French language|French]] and [[Corsican Language|Corsican]] which is closely related to Italian; in Italy, [[Ligurian language|Ligurian]], [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]], [[Lombard language|Lombard]], [[Emilian dialects|Emilian]], [[Romagnol dialects|Romagnol]], [[Italian language|Italian]] Gallo-Picene, [[Venetian language|Venetian]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]], [[Ladin language|Ladin]]; and in Switzerland, [[Lombard language|Lombard]] and [[Romansh language|Romansh]]. This continuum is sometimes presented as another example, but the major languages in the group (i.e. Portuguese, Spanish, French and Italian) have had separate [[standard language|standards]] for longer than the languages in the Continental West Germanic group, and so are not commonly classified as [[dialect]]s of a common language.

Focusing instead on the local Romance lects that pre-existed the establishment of national or regional standard languages, all evidence and principles point to ''Romania continua'' as having been, and to varying extents in some areas still being, what [[Charles Hockett]] called an L-complex, i.e. an unbroken chain of local differentiation such that, in principle and with appropriate caveats, intelligibility (due to sharing of features) attenuates with distance. This is perhaps most evident today in Italy, where, especially in rural and small-town contexts, local Romance is still often employed at home and work, and geolinguistic distinctions are such that while native speakers from any two nearby towns can understand each other with ease, they can also spot from linguistic features that the other is from elsewhere.

In recent centuries, the intermediate dialects between the major Romance languages have been moving toward [[language death|extinction]], as their speakers have switched to varieties closer to the more prestigious national standards. That has been most notable in France,{{Citation needed|date=June 2009}} owing to the French government's [[Language policy in France|refusal to recognise minority languages]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/le-senat-dit-non-a-la-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales_1712811.html|title=Le Sénat dit non à la Charte européenne des langues régionales|website=Franceinfo |date=27 October 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20231203070556/https://www.francetvinfo.fr/societe/le-senat-dit-non-a-la-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales_1712811.html |archive-date= Dec 3, 2023 }}</ref> but it has occurred to some extent in all Western Romance speaking countries. Language change has also threatened the survival of stateless languages with existing literary standards, such as Occitan.

The Romance [[languages of Italy]] are a less arguable example of a dialect continuum. For many decades since Italy's unification, the attitude of the French government towards the ethnolinguistic minorities was copied by the Italian government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/italy.php?aid=519|title=Italy : 5.1 General legislation : 5.1.9 Language laws|publisher=Council of Europe/ERICarts|website=Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe |date=September 18, 2013 |access-date=26 February 2014|archive-date=2 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302163710/http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/italy.php?aid=519|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/magazine/lingua_italiana/speciali/italiano_dialetti/Cerruti.html|title=Italiano e dialetto oggi in Italia |website=Treccani |date=26 January 2011 |first1=Massimo |last1=Cerruti |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221023143019/https://www.treccani.it/magazine/lingua_italiana/speciali/italiano_dialetti/Cerruti.html |archive-date= Oct 23, 2022 }}</ref>

====Eastern Romance continuum====

The eastern Romance continuum is dominated by [[Romanian language|Romanian]]. Outside Romania and Moldova, across the other south-east European countries, various Romanian language groups are to be found: pockets of various Romanian and Aromanian subgroups survive throughout [[Bulgaria]], [[Serbia]], [[North Macedonia]], [[Greece]], [[Albania]] and [[Croatia]] (mostly in [[Istria]]).

=== Slavic languages ===

Conventionally, on the basis of extralinguistic features (such as writing systems or the former western frontier of the Soviet Union), the North Slavic continuum is split into East and West Slavic continua. From the perspective of linguistic features alone, only two Slavic (dialect) continua can be distinguished, namely North and South,<ref>[[Peter Trudgill]]. 2003. ''A Glossary of Sociolinguistics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp 36, 95-96, 124-125.</ref><ref>[http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/slavic_eurasia_papers/no10/Maps.pdf#page=4][[Tomasz Kamusella]]<span>. 2017. Map A4, Dialect Continua in Central Europe, 1910 (p 94) and Map A5, Dialect Continua in Central Europe, 2009 (p 95). In: Tomasz Kamusella, Motoki Nomachi, and Catherine Gibson, eds. 2017. </span>''Central Europe Through the Lens of Language and Politics: On the Sample Maps from the Atlas of Language Politics in Modern Central Europe''<span> (Ser: Slavic Eurasia Papers, Vol 10). Sapporo, Japan: Slavic-Eurasian Research Center, Hokkaido University.</span></ref><ref>{{cite web|first = Tomasz|last = Kamusella |url = https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/10023/12905/The_Triple_Division_of_the_Slavic_Langua.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |author-link =Tomasz Kamusella|date = 2005|title =The Triple Division of the Slavic Languages: A Linguistic Finding, a Product of Politics, or an Accident?|format=Working Paper |id = 2005/1|location = Vienna|publisher = Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen}}</ref> separated from each other by a band of non-Slavic languages: Romanian, Hungarian and German.

==== North Slavic continuum ====

The North Slavic continuum covers the [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]] and [[West Slavic languages]]. East Slavic includes [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]] and [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]; West Slavic languages of [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]], [[Silesian language|Silesian]], [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], and [[Upper Sorbian language|Upper]] and [[Lower Sorbian language|Lower Sorbian]]. [[Eastern Slovak dialects|Eastern Slovak]] and [[Pannonian Rusyn]] stand out as sharing features with Slovak, Polish and Rusyn, thus serving as a transition between West and East Slavic languages.

==== South Slavic continuum ====
{{Further|Pluricentric language#Serbo-Croatian}}
[[File:South_Slavic_dialect_continuum.svg|thumb|right|200px|South Slavic dialect continuum with major dialect groups]]
All South Slavic languages form a dialect continuum.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crystal |first=David |author-link=David Crystal |year=1998 |orig-year=1st pub. 1987 |title=The Cambridge encyclopedia of language |location=Cambridge, New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=25 |oclc=300458429}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Friedman |first=Victor |author-link=Victor Friedman |year=1999 |title=Linguistic emblems and emblematic languages: on language as flag in the Balkans |series=Kenneth E. Naylor memorial lecture series in South Slavic linguistics; vol. 1 |location= Columbus, Ohio |publisher=Ohio State University, Dept. of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures |page=8 |oclc=46734277}}</ref> It comprises, from West to East, [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Montenegro]], [[Serbia]], [[North Macedonia]], and [[Bulgaria]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Alexander |first=Ronelle |year=2000 |title=In honor of diversity: the linguistic resources of the Balkans |series=Kenneth E. Naylor memorial lecture series in South Slavic linguistics; vol. 2 |location=Columbus, Ohio |publisher=Ohio State University, Dept. of Slavic and East European Languages and Literatures |page=4 |oclc=47186443}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Kristophson, Jürgen |title=Vom Widersinn der Dialektologie: Gedanken zum Štokavischen |trans-title=Nonsense of Dialectology: Thoughts on Shtokavian |language=de |journal= Zeitschrift für Balkanologie |volume=36 |issue=2 |page=180 |year=2000 |issn=0044-2356}}</ref> Standard [[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]], and [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] are each based on a distinct dialect, but the Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, and Serbian [[differences between Serbo-Croatian standard varieties|standard varieties]] of the [[Pluricentric language#Serbo-Croatian|pluricentric]] [[Serbo-Croatian language]] are all based on the same dialect, [[Shtokavian dialect|Shtokavian]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |editor1-last=Krause |editor1-first=Marion |editor2-last=Sappok |editor2-first=Christian |title=Slavistische Linguistik 2002: Referate des XXVIII. Konstanzer Slavistischen Arbeitstreffens, Bochum 10.-12. September 2002 |series=Slavistishe Beiträge; vol. 434 |publisher=Otto Sagner |pages=97–148 |language=de |chapter=Pro und kontra: "Serbokroatisch" heute |trans-chapter=Pros and cons: "Serbo-Croatian" today |chapter-url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430499.PRO_UND_KONTRA_SERBOKROATISCH.PDF |location=Munich |year=2004 |isbn=978-3-87690-885-4 |oclc=56198470 |ssrn=3434516 |id={{CROSBI|430499}} | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601174051/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430499.PRO_UND_KONTRA_SERBOKROATISCH.PDF|url-status=live |archive-date=1 June 2012 |url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/430499.PRO_UND_KONTRA_SERBOKROATISCH.PDF  |access-date=9 March 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Blum |first=Daniel |year=2002 |language=de |title=Sprache und Politik : Sprachpolitik und Sprachnationalismus in der Republik Indien und dem sozialistischen Jugoslawien (1945–1991) |trans-title=Language and Policy: Language Policy and Linguistic Nationalism in the Republic of India and the Socialist Yugoslavia (1945–1991) |series=Beiträge zur Südasienforschung; vol. 192 |location=Würzburg |publisher=Ergon |page=200 |isbn=978-3-89913-253-3 |oclc=51961066}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Gröschel |first=Bernhard |author-link=Bernhard Gröschel |year=2009 |language=de |title=Das Serbokroatische zwischen Linguistik und Politik: mit einer Bibliographie zum postjugoslavischen Sprachenstreit |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian Between Linguistics and Politics: With a Bibliography of the Post-Yugoslav Language Dispute |series=Lincom Studies in Slavic Linguistics; vol 34 |location=Munich |publisher=Lincom Europa |pages=82–83 |isbn=978-3-929075-79-3 |oclc=428012015 |lccn=2009473660 |ol=15295665W}}</ref> 
Therefore, [[Croats]], [[Serbs]], [[Bosniaks]] and [[Montenegrins]] [[Language secessionism#In Serbo-Croatian|communicate fluently]] with each other in their respective [[standard language|standardized varieties]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Kordić |first=Snježana |author-link=Snježana Kordić |year=2010 |language=hr |title=Jezik i nacionalizam |trans-title=Language and Nationalism |url=http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf |url-status=live |series=Rotulus Universitas |location=Zagreb |publisher=Durieux |pages=74–77 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3467646 |isbn=978-953-188-311-5 |lccn=2011520778 |oclc=729837512 |ol=15270636W |id={{CROSBI|475567}} |archive-date=1 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120601175359/http://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/475567.Jezik_i_nacionalizam.pdf |access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Pohl |first=Hans-Dieter |editor1-last=Ohnheiser |editor1-first=Ingeborg |title=Wechselbeziehungen zwischen slawischen Sprachen, Literaturen und Kulturen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart : Akten der Tagung aus Anlaß des 25jährigen Bestehens des Instituts für Slawistik an der Universität Innsbruck, Innsbruck, 25–27 Mai 1995 |series=Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft, Slavica aenipontana; vol. 4 |publisher=Non Lieu |pages=205–219 |language=de |chapter=Serbokroatisch – Rückblick und Ausblick |trans-chapter=Serbo-Croatian – Looking backward and forward |location=Innsbruck |year=1996 |oclc=243829127}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Šipka|first=Danko|author-link=Danko Sipka|year=2019|title=Lexical layers of identity: words, meaning, and culture in the Slavic languages|location=New York|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=166|doi=10.1017/9781108685795|isbn=978-953-313-086-6|s2cid=150383965|lccn=2018048005 |oclc=1061308790|quote=lexical differences between the ethnic variants are extremely limited, even when compared with those between closely related Slavic languages (such as standard Czech and Slovak, Bulgarian and Macedonian), and grammatical differences are even less pronounced. More importantly, complete understanding between the ethnic variants of the standard language makes translation and second language teaching impossible", leading Šipka "to consider it a pluricentric standard language}}</ref> In [[Croatia]], native speakers of Shtokavian may struggle to understand distinct [[Kajkavian]] or [[Chakavian]] dialects, as might the speakers of the two with each other.<ref>{{cite book|last=Škiljan |first=Dubravko| author-link=Dubravko Škiljan |year=2002 |language=hr |title=Govor nacije: jezik, nacija, Hrvati |trans-title=Voice of the Nation: Language, Nation, Croats |series=Biblioteka Obrisi moderne |location=Zagreb |publisher=Golden marketing | page=12 |oclc=55754615}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Paul-Louis |title=Le serbo-croate (bosniaque, croate, monténégrin, serbe): de l'étude d'une langue à l'identité des langues |trans-title=Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian): from the study of a language to the identity of languages |url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/slave_0080-2557_2002_num_74_2_6801 |language=fr |journal=Revue des études slaves |volume=74 |issue=2–3 |page=315 |year=2003 |issn=0080-2557}}</ref> Likewise in [[Serbia]], the [[Torlakian]] dialect differs significantly from Standard Serbian. Serbian is a Western South Slavic standard, but Torlakian is largely transitional with the Eastern South Slavic languages (Bulgarian and Macedonian). Collectively, the Torlakian dialects with Macedonian and Bulgarian share many grammatical features that set them apart from all other Slavic languages, such as the complete loss of its [[grammatical case]] systems and adoption of features more commonly found among [[analytic languages]].

The barrier between ''East South Slavic'' and ''West South Slavic'' is historical and natural, caused primarily by a one-time geographical distance between speakers. The two varieties started diverging early on ({{Circa|11th century CE}}) and evolved separately ever since without major mutual influence, as evidenced by distinguishable [[Old Bulgarian|Old Slavonic]], while the western dialect of common Old Slavic was still spoken across the modern Serbo-Croatian area in the 12th and early 13th centuries. An intermediate dialect linking western and eastern variations inevitably came into existence over time – [[Torlakian dialect|Torlakian]] – spoken across a wide radius on which the tripoint of [[Bulgaria]], [[North Macedonia]] and [[Serbia]] is relatively pivotal.

=== Uralic languages ===

The other major language family in Europe besides Indo-European are the [[Uralic languages]]. The [[Sami languages]], sometimes mistaken for a single language, are a dialect continuum, albeit with some disconnections like between [[North Sami language|North]], [[Skolt Sami language|Skolt]] and [[Inari Sámi language|Inari Sami]]. The [[Baltic-Finnic languages]] spoken around the [[Gulf of Finland]] form a dialect continuum. Thus, although [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]] are considered as separate languages, there is no definite linguistic border or isogloss that separates them. This is now more difficult to recognize because many of the intervening languages have declined or become extinct.

=== Goidelic continuum ===

The [[Goidelic languages]] consist of [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish Gaelic]] and [[Manx language|Manx]]. Prior to the 19th and 20th centuries, the continuum existed throughout Ireland, the Isle of Man and Scotland.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mac Eoin|first=Gearóid|chapter=Irish|pages=101–44|title=The Celtic Languages|editor-first=Martin J. |editor-last=Ball |publisher=Routledge|location=London|year=1993|isbn=978-0-415-01035-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=McManus|first=Damian|chapter=An Nua-Ghaeilge Chlasaiceach |pages=335–445|editor=K. McCone |editor2=D. McManus |editor3=C. Ó Háinle |editor4=N. Williams |editor5=L. Breatnach |title=Stair na Gaeilge in ómós do Pádraig Ó Fiannachta|location=Maynooth|publisher=Department of Old Irish, St. Patrick's College|year=1994|isbn=978-0-901519-90-0|language=Irish}}</ref> Many intermediate dialects have become extinct or have died out leaving major gaps between languages such as in the islands of [[Rathlin]], [[Isle of Arran|Arran]] or [[Kintyre]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=McLeod |first=Wilson |date=2017 |title=Dialectal diversity in contemporary Gaelic: perceptions, discourses and responses |url=https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pfrlsu/documents/PFRLSU/W._McLeod_Dialectal_Diversity.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214181549/https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pfrlsu/documents/PFRLSU/W._McLeod_Dialectal_Diversity.pdf |archive-date=Feb 14, 2022 |website=University of Aberdeen}}</ref> and also in the [[Counties of Ireland|Irish counties]] of [[County Antrim|Antrim]], [[County Londonderry|Londonderry]] and [[County Down|Down]].

The current Goidelic speaking areas of Ireland are also separated by extinct dialects but remain mutually intelligible.

==Middle East==

===Arabic===

[[Arabic]] is a standard case of [[diglossia]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Adolf|last=Wahrmund|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yUYAAAAYAAJ|title=Praktisches Handbuch der neu-arabischen Sprache ...|publisher=J. Ricker|year=1898|edition=3|volume=1-2 of Praktisches Handbuch der neu-arabischen Sprache|access-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> The standard written language, [[Modern Standard Arabic]], is based on the [[Classical Arabic]] of the [[Qur'an]], while the [[Varieties of Arabic|modern vernacular dialects]] (or languages) branched from ancient Arabic dialects, from North Western [[Africa]] through [[Egypt]], [[Sudan]], and the [[Fertile Crescent]] to the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and [[Iraq]]. The dialects use different analogues from the Arabic language inventory and have been influenced by different substrate and superstrate languages. Adjacent dialects are mutually understandable to a large extent, but those from distant regions are more difficult to be understood.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kaye|first1=Alan S.|title=The Semitic Languages|last2=Rosenhouse|first2=Judith|publisher=Routledge|year=1997|isbn=978-0-415-05767-7|editor-last=Hetzron|editor-first=Robert|pages=263–311|chapter=Arabic Dialects and Maltese}}</ref>

The difference between the written standard and the vernaculars is apparent also in the written language, and children have to be taught Modern Standard Arabic in school to be able to read it.

===Aramaic===
All [[modern Aramaic]] languages descend from a dialect continuum that historically existed through the Aramaization of the Levant (other than the original Aramaic-speaking parts) and Mesopotamia<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bunnens |first=Guy |date=2009 |title=ASSYRIAN EMPIRE BUILDING AND ARAMIZATION OF CULTURE AS SEEN FROM TELL AHMAR/TIL BARSIB |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20723920 |journal=Syria |publisher=Institut Francais du Proche-Orient}}</ref> and before the Islamicization of the Levant and Mesopotamia. [[Northeastern Neo-Aramaic]], including distinct varieties spoken by both Jews and Christians, is a dialect continuum although greatly disrupted by population displacement during the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kim |first1=Ronald |title="Stammbaum" or Continuum? The Subgrouping of Modern Aramaic Dialects Reconsidered |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |date=2008 |volume=128 |issue=3 |pages=505–531 |jstor=25608409 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25608409 |issn=0003-0279}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mutzafi |first1=Hezy |title=Further Jewish Neo-Aramaic Innovations |journal=Journal of Jewish Languages |date=23 August 2018 |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=145–181 |doi=10.1163/22134638-06011130 |s2cid=165973597 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/jjl/6/2/article-p145_1.xml |issn=2213-4638|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Geoffrey |title=The Neo-Aramaic Dialects of Iran |journal=Iranian Studies |date=2020 |volume=53 |issue=3–4 |pages=445–463 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1714430|s2cid=216353456 |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/301788 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Armenian ===

The [[Armenian language]] has two standardized forms: [[Western Armenian]] and [[Eastern Armenian]]. Before the [[Armenian genocide]] and other significant demographic changes that affected the [[Armenians]], several dozen [[Armenian dialects]] existed in the areas historically populated by them. The most notable overarching survey of the Armenian dialects is the ''Classification des dialectes arméniens'' (''Classification of Armenian dialects''), a 1909 book by the Armenian linguist [[Hrachia Acharian]], published in Paris.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adjarian |first1=Hrachia |title=Classification des dialectes arméniens |date=1909 |publisher=Librairie Honore Champion |location=Paris}}</ref> It is Acharian's translation into French of his original work [http://www.nayiri.com/imagedBook.jsp?id=1 ''Hay Barbaṙagitutʿiwn''] ("Armenian Dialectology") that was later published as a book in 1911 in Moscow and New Nakhichevan. The French translation lacks  dialectal examples. An English translation was published in 2024.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dolatian |first1=Hossep |title=Adjarian’s Armenian dialectology (1911): Translation and commentary |date=2024 |publisher=Language Science Press |location=Berlin |url=https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/385}}</ref> Acharian surveyed the Armenian dialects in what is now [[Turkey]], [[Armenia]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Iran]], [[Azerbaijan]] and other countries settled by [[Armenians]]. After the [[Armenian genocide]], linguists [[Gevorg Jahukyan]], Jos Weitenberg, [[Bert Vaux]] and [[Hrach Martirosyan]] have extended the understanding of Armenian dialects.

=== Persian ===

The varieties of the [[Persian language]], including [[Tajik language|Tajiki]] and [[Dari language|Dari]], form a dialect continuum. The divergence of Tajik was accelerated by the shift from the Perso-Arabic alphabet to a Cyrillic one under Soviet rule. Western dialects of Persian show greater influence from Arabic and Oghuz Turkic languages,{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} but Dari and Tajik tend to preserve many classical features in grammar and vocabulary. {{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Also the [[Tat language (Caucasus)|Tat language]], a dialect of Persian, is spoken in Azerbaijan.

== Turkic ==

[[Turkic languages]] are best described as a dialect continuum.<ref>{{cite book | last=Grenoble | first=Lenore A. | title=Language policy in the Soviet Union | publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers | publication-place=Dordrecht | date=2003 | isbn=0-306-48083-2 | oclc=53984252}}</ref> Geographically this continuum starts at the [[Balkans]] in the west with [[Balkan Gagauz Turkish language|Balkan Turkish]], includes [[Turkish language|Turkish]] in [[Turkey]] and [[Azerbaijani language]] in [[Azerbaijan]], extends into [[Iran]] with [[Azerbaijani language|Azeri]] and [[Turkic Khalaj language|Khalaj]], into [[Iraq]] with [[Turkmen language|Turkmen]], across [[Central Asia]] to include [[Turkmenistan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], to southern Regions of [[Tajikistan]] and into [[Afghanistan]]. In the south, the continuum starts in northern Afghanistan, northward to [[Chuvashia Republic|Chuvashia]]. In the east it extends to the Republic of [[Tuva]], the [[Xinjiang]] autonomous region in Western China with the [[Uyghur language]] and into [[Mongolia]] with [[Khoton]]. The entire territory is inhabited by Turkic speaking peoples. There are three varieties of Turkic geographically outside the continuum: [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]], [[Sakha language|Yakut]] and [[Dolgan language|Dolgan]]. They have been geographically separated from the other Turkic languages for an extensive period of time, and Chuvash language stands out as the most divergent from other Turkic languages.

There are also [[Gagauz language|Gagauz]] speakers in [[Moldavia]] and [[Urum language|Urum]] speakers in [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]].

The Turkic continuum makes internal genetic classification of the languages problematic. [[Chuvash language|Chuvash]], Khalaj and [[Sakha language|Yakut]] are generally classified as significantly distinct, but the remaining [[Turkic languages]] are quite similar, with a high degree of mutual intelligibility between not only geographically adjacent varieties but also among some varieties some distance apart.{{Citation needed|date=April 2012}} Structurally, the Turkic languages are very close to one another, and they share basic features such as [[Subject–object–verb|SOV]] word order, [[vowel harmony]] and [[agglutination]].<ref>{{cite book
  | last = Grenoble
  | first = Lenore A.
  | title = Language Policy in the Soviet Union
  | publisher = [[Springer-Verlag]]
  | volume = 3
  | year = 2003
  | isbn = 978-1-4020-1298-3 }}</ref>

== Indo-Aryan languages ==

Many of the [[Indo-Aryan languages]] of the [[Indian subcontinent]] form a dialect continuum. What is called "[[Hindi]]" in India is frequently [[Standard Hindi]], the [[Sanskrit]]ized register of the colloquial [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] spoken in the [[Delhi]] area, the other register being [[Urdu]]. However, the term Hindi is also used for the different dialects from [[Bihar]] to [[Rajasthan]] and, more widely, some of the Eastern and Northern dialects are sometimes grouped under Hindi.{{Citation needed|date=May 2017}} The Indo-Aryan [[Prakrit]]s also gave rise to languages like [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Assamese language|Assamese]], [[Maithili language|Maithili]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]], [[Odia language|Odia]], [[Nepali language|Nepali]], [[Marathi language|Marathi]], [[Konkani language|Konkani]] and [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]].

== Chinese ==
[[File:Map of sinitic languages cropped-en.svg|thumb|right|Areas of Chinese dialect groups]]
Chinese consists of hundreds of mutually unintelligible [[varieties of Chinese|local varieties]].<ref name="Norman 2003 p72">{{cite book
  | given = Jerry | surname = Norman | author-link = Jerry Norman (sinologist)
  | chapter = The Chinese dialects: phonology | pages = 72–83
  | editor-given1 = Graham | editor-surname1 = Thurgood | editor-link1 = Graham Thurgood
  | editor-given2 = Randy J. | editor-surname2 = LaPolla | editor-link2 = Randy LaPolla
  | title = The Sino-Tibetan languages | publisher = Routledge | year = 2003
  | isbn = 978-0-7007-1129-1
  }} p. 72.</ref><ref>{{cite journal
  | given = Mahé Ben | surname = Hamed
  | title = Neighbour-nets portray the Chinese dialect continuum and the linguistic legacy of China's demic history
  | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
  | volume = 272  | number = 1567 | pages = 1015–1022 | year = 2005
  | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2004.3015 | pmc = 1599877 | pmid=16024359 |jstor=30047639
}}</ref>
The differences are similar to those within the [[Romance languages]], which are similarly descended from a language spread by imperial expansion over [[substrate language]]s 2000 years ago.<ref>{{cite book
  | given = Jerry | surname = Norman | title = Chinese
  | location = Cambridge | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1988
  | isbn = 978-0-521-29653-3
  | page = 187
  }}</ref>
Unlike Europe, however, Chinese political unity was restored in the late 6th century and has persisted (with interludes of division) until the present day.
There are no equivalents of the local standard literary languages that developed in the numerous independent states of Europe.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=2–3}}

Chinese dialectologists have divided the local varieties into a number of dialect groups, largely based on phonological developments in comparison with [[Middle Chinese]].<ref>{{cite book
  | given = Maria | surname = Kurpaska
  | title = Chinese Language(s): A Look Through the Prism of "The Great Dictionary of Modern Chinese Dialects"
  | publisher = [[Walter de Gruyter]] | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-3-11-021914-2
  | pages = 41–55
  }}</ref>
Most of these groups are found in the rugged terrain of the southeast, reflecting the greater variation in this area, particularly in [[Fujian]].<ref>{{cite book
  | given = S. Robert | surname = Ramsey | title = The Languages of China
  | publisher = Princeton University Press | year = 1987 | isbn = 978-0-691-01468-5
  | page = 22
  }}</ref>{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=183–190}}
Each of these groups contains numerous mutually unintelligible varieties.<ref name="Norman 2003 p72"/>
Moreover, in many cases the transitions between groups are smooth, as a result of centuries of interaction and multilingualism.<ref>{{cite journal
  | given = Laurent | surname = Sagart | author-link = Laurent Sagart
  | title = On distinguishing Hakka and non-Hakka dialects
  | journal = Journal of Chinese Linguistics | volume = 26 | issue = 2
  | year = 1998 | pages = 281–302 | jstor = 23756757
  }} p 299.</ref>

The boundaries between the northern [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] area and the central groups, [[Wu Chinese|Wu]], [[Gan Chinese|Gan]] and [[Xiang Chinese|Xiang]], are particularly weak, due to the steady flow of northern features into these areas.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|pp=190, 206–207}}<ref>{{cite book
  | given = M.A.K | surname = Halliday | author-link = Michael Halliday
  | chapter = The users and uses of language
  | pages = 139–169 | orig-year = 1964
  | title = Readings in the Sociology of Language
  | editor-given = Joshua A. | editor-surname = Fishman
  | publisher = Walter de Gruyter | year = 1968
  | isbn = 978-3-11-080537-6
}} p. 12.</ref>
Transitional varieties between the Wu, Gan and Mandarin groups have been variously classified, with some scholars assigning them to a separate [[Huizhou Chinese|Hui]] group.<ref>{{cite book
  | given = Margaret Mian | surname = Yan
  | title = Introduction to Chinese Dialectology
  | publisher = LINCOM Europa | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-3-89586-629-6
  | pages = 223–224
  }}</ref>{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=206}}
The boundaries between Gan, [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]] and [[Min Chinese|Min]] are similarly indistinct.{{sfnp|Norman|1988|p=241}}{{sfnp|Norman|2003|p=80}} 
[[Pinghua]] and [[Yue Chinese|Yue]] form a dialect continuum (excluding urban enclaves of [[Cantonese]]).<ref>{{cite book
  | given = Hilário | surname = de Sousa
  | chapter = Language contact in Nanning: Nanning Pinghua and Nanning Cantonese
  | pages = 157–189
  | title = Diversity in Sinitic Languages
  | editor-given = Hilary M. | editor-surname = Chappell
  | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 2016 | isbn = 978-0-19-872379-0
  }} p. 162.</ref>
There are sharper boundaries resulting from more recent expansion between Hakka and Yue, and between [[Southwestern Mandarin]] and Yue, but even here there has been considerable convergence in contact areas.{{sfnp|Halliday|1968|pp=11–12}}

== Cree and Ojibwa ==

[[Cree language|Cree]] is a group of closely related [[Algonquian languages]] that are distributed from [[Alberta]] to [[Labrador]] in [[Canada]]. They form the Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi dialect continuum, with around 117,410 speakers. The languages can be roughly classified into nine groups, from west to east:

* [[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]] (y-dialect)
* [[Woods Cree]] or Woods/Rocky Cree (ð-dialect)
* [[Swampy Cree]] (n-dialect)
** Eastern Swampy Cree
** Western Swampy Cree
* [[Moose Cree]] (l-dialect)
* [[East Cree]] or James Bay Cree (y-dialect)
** Northern East Cree
** Southern East Cree
* [[Atikamekw language|Atikamekw]] (r-dialect)
* Western Montagnais (l-dialect)
* [[Innu language|Innu-aimun]] or Eastern Montagnais (n-dialect)
* [[Naskapi language|Naskapi]] (y-dialect)

Various Cree languages are used as languages of instruction and taught as subjects: Plains Cree, Eastern Cree, Montagnais, etc. Mutual intelligibility between some dialects can be low. There is no accepted standard dialect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://linguistlist.org/issues/6/6-744/|title=LINGUIST List 6.744: Cree dialects|website=www.linguistlist.org|date=1995-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CA|title=Canada}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.native-languages.org/cree.htm|title=Cree Language and the Cree Indian Tribe (Iyiniwok, Eenou, Eeyou, Iynu, Kenistenoag)|website=www.native-languages.org|access-date=10 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404114314/http://www.native-languages.org/cree.htm|archive-date=4 April 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Ojibwe language|Ojibwa]] (Chippewa) is a group of closely related [[Algonquian languages]] in [[Canada]], which is distributed from [[British Columbia]] to [[Quebec]], and the [[United States]], distributed from [[Montana]] to [[Michigan]], with [[diaspora]] communities in [[Kansas]] and [[Oklahoma]]. With Cree, the [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] dialect continuum forms its own continuum, but the [[Oji-Cree language]] of this continuum joins the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum through [[Swampy Cree language|Swampy Cree]]. The Ojibwe continuum has 70,606 speakers. Roughly from northwest to southeast, it has these dialects:

* Ojibwa-Ottawa
** [[Algonquin language|Algonquin]]
** [[Oji-Cree language|Oji-Cree (Northern Ojibwa)]] or Severn
** Ojibwa
*** [[Western Ojibwa language|Western Ojibwa]] or Saulteaux
*** [[Chippewa language|Chippewa (Southwestern Ojibwa)]]
*** [[Northwestern Ojibwa]]
*** [[Central Ojibwa language|Central Ojibwa]] or Nipissing
*** [[Eastern Ojibwa language|Eastern Ojibwa]] or Mississauga
** [[Ottawa dialect|Ottawa (Southeastern Ojibwa)]]
* [[Potawatomi language|Potawatomi]]

Unlike the Cree–Montagnais–Naskapi dialect continuum, with distinct n/y/l/r/ð dialect characteristics and noticeable west–east k/č(ch) axis, the Ojibwe continuum is marked with [[Syncope (phonetics)|vowel syncope]] along the west–east axis and ∅/n along the north–south axis.

== See also ==
* [[A language is a dialect with an army and navy]] (an [[aphorism]] spread among linguists)
* [[Dialect]], including the classification units "dialect cluster", "language cluster" and "dialect group"
* [[Dialect levelling]]
* [[Dialectometry]]
* [[Diasystem]]
* [[Diglossia]]
* [[Koine language]]
* [[Language secessionism]]
* [[Linkage (linguistics)]]
* [[ISO 639 macrolanguage|Macrolanguage]]
* [[Post-creole speech continuum]]
* [[Ring species]], an analogous concept in ecology

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Dialects]]
[[Category:Comparative linguistics]]
[[Category:Dialectology]]
[[Category:Language geography]]