Editing Variety (linguistics)

{{Short description|Specific form of a language or language cluster}}
{{Redirect|Lect|the commune in France|Lect, Jura}}
{{Sociolinguistics}}
In [[sociolinguistics]], a '''variety''', also known as a '''lect''' or an '''isolect''',<ref>Hudson, Alfred B. 1967. ''The Barito isolects of Borneo: A classification based on comparative reconstruction and lexicostatistics''. Data Paper no. 68, Southeast Asia Program, Department of Asian Studies, Cornell University. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University,</ref> is a specific form of a language or [[Dialect continuum|language cluster]]. This may include [[language]]s, [[dialect]]s, [[register (sociolinguistics)|registers]], [[style (sociolinguistics)|styles]], or other forms of language, as well as a [[standard language|standard variety]].<ref name=MeechamReesMiller>Meecham, Marjorie and Janie Rees-Miller. (2001) "Language in social contexts." In W. O'Grady, J. Archibald, M. Aronoff and J. Rees-Miller (eds) ''Contemporary Linguistics''. pp. 537-590. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.</ref> The use of the word ''variety'' to refer to the different forms avoids the use of the term ''language'', which many people associate only with the standard language, and the term ''dialect'', which is often associated with [[nonstandard dialect|non-standard language forms]] thought of as less [[prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestigious]] or "proper" than the standard.<ref name=Schilling-Estes>Schilling-Estes, Natalies. (2006) "Dialect variation." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds) ''An Introduction to Language and Linguistics''. pp. 311-341. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> Linguists speak of both standard and non-standard ([[vernacular]])<ref name="Wolfram">{{cite book |title=American English: dialects and variation |first1=Walt |last1=Wolfram |first2=Natalie |last2=Schilling-Estes |pages=13–16 |location=Malden, Mass. |publisher=Blackwell |year=1998}}</ref> varieties as equally complex, valid, and full-fledged forms of language. ''Lect'' avoids the problem in ambiguous cases of deciding whether two varieties are distinct languages or dialects of a single language.

Variation at the level of the [[lexicon]], such as [[slang]] and [[argot]], is often considered in relation to particular styles or levels of formality (also called [[Register (sociolinguistics)|registers]]), but such uses are sometimes discussed as varieties as well.<ref name=MeechamReesMiller/>

==Dialects==
{{main|Dialect}}
O'Grady et al. define ''dialect'': "A regional or social variety of a language characterized by its own [[Phonology|phonological]], [[Syntax|syntactic]], and [[Lexicon|lexical]] properties."<ref name=ContempLx>O'Grady, William, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, and Jane Rees-Miller. eds. (2001) ''Contemporary Linguistics''. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.</ref> A variety spoken in a particular region is called a regional dialect (regiolect, geolect<ref>{{citation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5N9VUT5Tl4C|page=250|chapter =Varieties of the Greek language |title=The Language of the New Testament: Context, History, and Development |author = Christopher D. Land |date=21 February 2013|publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004234772|editor=Stanley E. Porter, Andrew Pitts}}</ref>); some regional varieties are called regionalects<ref>{{citation|url=http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~dwbruhn/dwbruhn_376_Dispossessed.pdf|page=8|author= Daniel. W. Bruhn |title=Walls of the Tongue: A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Ursula K. Le Guin's The Dispossessed}}</ref> or topolects, especially to discuss [[varieties of Chinese]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2010 |title =topolect |encyclopedia=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |location=Boston |edition=4th}}</ref> In addition, there are varieties associated with particular ethnic groups (sometimes called [[ethnolect]]s), [[Social class|socioeconomic classes]] (sometimes called [[sociolect]]s), or other social or cultural groups.

[[Dialectology]] is the study of dialects and their geographic or social distribution.<ref name=ContempLx/> Traditionally, dialectologists study the variety of language used within a particular [[speech community]], a group of people who share a set of norms or conventions for language use.<ref name=MeechamReesMiller/> 

In order to sidestep the vexing problem of distinguishing ''dialect'' from ''language'', some linguists have been using the term ''communalect''<ref>[[Andrew Pawley|Pawley, Andrew]] & Timoci Sayaba. 1971. Fijian dialect divisions: eastern and western Fijian. ''Journal of the Polynesian Society'' 80.4 (1971): 405-436.</ref><ref>See p.8 of: {{cite book | last = Ross | first = Malcolm D. | author-link = Malcolm Ross (linguist) | year = 1988 | title = Proto-Oceanic and the Austronesian languages of Western Melanesia | url = https://archive.org/details/protooceanicaust0000ross | url-access = registration | location = Canberra | publisher = Australian National University | isbn = 978-0-85883-367-8 | oclc = 20100109 }}</ref> – defined as "a neutral term for any speech tradition tied to a specific community".<ref>See p.89 of {{citation
|last=François
|first=Alexandre
|author-link = Alexandre François
|year=2012
|title=The dynamics of linguistic diversity: Egalitarian multilingualism and power imbalance among northern Vanuatu languages
|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language
|issue=214
|doi=10.1515/ijsl-2012-0022
|pages=85–110
|s2cid=145208588
|url=http://alex.francois.online.fr/data/AlexFrancois_2012_NorthVanuatuSocioling_IJSL.pdf
|ref=IJSL
}}.</ref>

More recently, [[sociolinguistics|sociolinguists]] have adopted the concept of the [[community of practice]], a group of people who develop shared knowledge and shared norms of interaction, as the social group within which dialects develop and change.<ref name=LaveWenger>Lave, Jean & Etienne Wenger. (1991) ''Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> Sociolinguists [[Penelope Eckert]] and [[Sally McConnell-Ginet]] explain: "Some communities of practice may develop more distinctive ways of speaking than others. Thus, it is within communities of practice that linguistic influence may spread within and among speech communities."<ref name=EckertMcConnellGinet>Eckert, Penelope & Sally McConnell-Ginet. (2003) ''Language and Gender''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

The words ''dialect'' and ''accent'' are often used synonymously in everyday speech, but linguists define the two terms differently. ''[[Accent (sociolinguistics)|Accent]]'' generally refers to differences in [[pronunciation]], especially those that are associated with geographic or social differences, whereas ''dialect'' refers to differences in grammar and vocabulary as well.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lyons |first=John |title=Language and Linguistics: An introduction |year=2002 |orig-year=1981 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-52-123034-9 |page=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8Wg57a3DdYYC&q=accent+dialect }}</ref>

==Standard varieties==
{{main|Standard language}}
Many languages have a ''standard variety'', some lect that is selected and promoted [[linguistic prescription|prescriptively]] by either quasi-legal authorities or other social institutions, such as schools or media. Standard varieties are accorded more [[prestige (sociolinguistics)|sociolinguistic prestige]] than other, [[nonstandard dialect|nonstandard lects]] and are generally thought of as "correct" by speakers of the language. Since the selection is an [[arbitrariness|arbitrary standard]], standard forms are the "correct" varieties only in the sense that they are tacitly valued by higher socio-economic strata and promoted by public influencers on matters of [[usage (language)|language use]], such as writers, publishers, critics, language teachers, and self-appointed language guardians. As Ralph Harold Fasold puts it, "The standard language may not even be the best possible constellation of linguistic features available. It is general social acceptance that gives us a workable arbitrary standard, not any inherent superiority of the characteristics it specifies."<ref name=Fasold>Fasold, Ralph. (2006) "The politics of language." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds) ''An Introduction to Language and Linguistics''. pp. 371-400. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref>

Sociolinguists generally recognize the standard variety of a language as one of the dialects of that language.<ref name=Trudgill>{{cite book |last=Trudgill |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Trudgill |year=1999 |url=http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/SEtrudgill.htm |chapter=Standard English: what it isn't |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090321091659/http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/SEtrudgill.htm |archive-date=21 March 2009 |editor-first=T. |editor-last=Bex |editor2-first=R.J. |editor2-last=Watts |title=Standard English: The Widening Debate |pages=117–128 |location=London |publisher=[[Routledge]]}}</ref>

In some cases, an authoritative [[List of language regulators|regulatory body]], such as the {{lang|fr|[[Académie Française]]|italic=no}},<ref>{{cite web|title=Le Dictionnaire |url=http://www.academie-francaise.fr/le-dictionnaire/la-9e-edition |website=Académie française |language=fr |access-date=20 July 2016}}</ref> maintains and [[codification (linguistics)|codifies]]  the usage norms for a standard variety. More often, though, standards are understood in an implicit, [[usus|practice-based]] way. Writing about Standard English, John Algeo suggests that the standard variety "is simply what English speakers agree to regard as good".<ref>Algeo, John. (1993) "What Makes Good English Good?" In L. Miller Cleary and M.D. Lin (eds) ''Linguistics for Teachers''. pp. 473-82. New York: McGraw.</ref>

==Registers and styles==
{{main|Register (sociolinguistics)|Style (sociolinguistics)|Style-shifting}}
A ''register'' (sometimes called a ''style'') is a variety of language used in a particular social setting.<ref name=Ottenheimer>Ottenheimer, Harriet Joseph. (2006) ''The Anthropology of Language''. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage.</ref> Settings may be defined in terms of greater or lesser formality,<ref>Joos, Martin. (1961) ''The Five Clocks.'' New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.</ref> or in terms of socially recognized events, such as [[child-directed speech|baby talk]], which is used in many western cultures to talk to small children or as a joking register used in [[teasing]] or playing [[The Dozens]].<ref name=Ottenheimer/> There are also registers associated with particular professions or interest groups; [[jargon]] refers specifically to the vocabulary associated with such registers.

Unlike dialects, which are used by particular [[speech community|speech communities]] and associated with geographical settings or social groupings, registers are associated with particular communicative situations, purposes, or levels of formality, and can constitute divisions within a single regional lect or standardized variety. Dialect and register may thus be thought of as different dimensions of [[variation (linguistics)|linguistic variation]]. For example, Trudgill suggests the following sentence as an example of a [[nonstandard dialect]] that is used with the technical register of physical geography:
{{as written|
{{quote|There was two eskers what we saw in them U-shaped valleys.<ref name=Trudgill/>}}
}}<!-- Example sentence - do not correct usage or style -->

Most speakers command a range of registers, which they use in different situations. The choice of register is affected by the setting and topic of speech, as well as the relationship that exists between the speakers.<ref name=MST>Saville-Troike, Muriel. (1982) ''The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction''. Oxford and Cambridge, Massachusetts: Blackwell.</ref>

The appropriate form of language may also change during the course of a communicative event as the relationship between speakers changes, or different social facts become relevant. Speakers may shift styles, as their perception of an event in progress changes. Consider the following telephone call to the [[Embassy of Cuba in Washington, D.C.|Embassy of Cuba]] in [[Washington, DC]].

<blockquote>
Caller: {{lang|es|italic=no|¿Es la embajada de Cuba?}} (''Is this the Cuban embassy?'')<br/>
Receptionist: {{lang|es|italic=no|Sí. Dígame.}} (''Yes, may I help you?'')<br/>
Caller: {{lang|es|italic=no|Es Rosa.}} (''It's Rosa.'')<br/>
Receptionist: {{lang|es|italic=no|¡Ah Rosa! {{as written|¿Cóm|a anda eso?}}}} (''Oh, Rosa! How's it going?'')
</blockquote>
<!-- Example sentence - do not correct usage or style -->

At first, the receptionist uses a relatively formal register, as befits her professional role. After the caller identifies herself, the receptionist recognizes that she is speaking to a friend, and she shifts to an informal register of [[colloquialism|colloquial]] [[Cuban Spanish]].<ref name=MST/> The shift is similar to [[Metaphorical code-switching|metaphorical]] [[code-switching]], but since it involves styles or registers, it is considered an example of style-shifting.

==Idiolect==
An [[idiolect]] is defined as "the language use typical of an individual person".<ref>Freeborn, Dennis, Peter French & David Langford. (1993) ''Varieties of English''. Houndsmill and London: MacMillan Press.</ref> An individual's idiolect may be affected by contact with various regional or social dialects, professional registers and, in the case of [[multilingual]]s, various languages.<ref>Gregory, Michael and Susanne Carroll. (1978) ''Language and situation: language varieties and their social contexts''. London: Routledge.</ref>

For scholars who view language from the perspective of [[linguistic competence]], essentially the knowledge of language and grammar that exists in the mind of an individual language user, the idiolect, is a way of referring to the specific knowledge. For scholars who regard language as a shared social practice, the idiolect is more like a dialect with a speech community of one individual.<ref>Barber, Alex. (2004) "Idiolects." ''[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/idiolects/ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy]''. Retrieved 07-01-2009.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Abstand and ausbau languages]]
* [[Language localisation|Language localization]]
* [[List of language subsystems]]
* [[Koiné language]], a standard language or dialect that arises due to contact between mutually intelligible varieties (dialects) of the same language

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Wiktionary|variety}}

{{Language varieties}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Language varieties and styles| ]]
[[Category:Linguistics terminology]]
[[Category:Sociolinguistics]]