Urban Dialectology ‫ ; اللهجات الحضرية؛‬is at the core of sociolinguistics and it is

known as variationist .

sociolinguistics where by the linguistic variables ‫ المتغيرات‬are studied.

Dialectology was not affected by linguistics only; it was influenced by
social sciences too. Concentrating on linguistic variation and
dissociating the societal dimension is regarded as a delinquency ‫ انحراف‬.
social variation and regional variation share similar pervasiveness and
prominence.

A dialect ‫ اللهجة‬is a variety that is both regional and social; individuals

claim their origins and locations with regard to a particular speech
community; besides this, they have social backgrounds and a number of
features which characterize them as individuals as : the social class,
gender, age, ethnicity, race, educational level, or other social
characteristics.

Social dialects ‫ اللهجات االجتماعية‬: During the 1930’s, studies in the US and
Canada initiated studying dialects and have taken into consideration the
social variables (factors) of the speakers. In this vein, the users of a
dialect will reflect their social backgrounds, their educational level and
ethnicity. In fact, through language (variety) people are recognized at
different levels.

Urban dialects : Traditional dialectology focused on rural dialects and

how they vary according to a specific linear or continuum;
dialectologists were interested in linguistic (geographic) variation at
three linguistic levels, mainly, (grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary).
By contrast, urban dialectology has a diversified scope. In fact, this latter
addresses the relationship between language and social factors as age,
gender, social status and so forth. For clarity, in urban dialectology we
shed light on variation and language change in urban areas as cities
(England, New York) with integration to individuals’ social features
because these latter have an impact on how people think. Considering
the linguistic variables, not all the linguistic levels are involved, but
focus is more on phonology and grammar. To illustrate, “I done it last
night” (Cockney English); “I did it last night” (RP English).

Verbal repertoire : A group of varieties that are used in spoken

discourse or written forms in a specific speech community . These
varieties could be dialect, register, jargon, or language; these
aforementioned are always utilized with a style of our selection; that is
to say, it could be very formal, formal, very informal or informal
depending on the context whereby spoken or written forms take place.
Accordingly , the verbal repertoire refers to the totality of linguistic
forms employed in a socially significant interaction and it is likely to
define an individual communicative competence because each person
has his/her own way to express their ideas, opinions, beliefs and
customs with regard to their origins and their speech communities.

Speech community : We cannot identify the significance of the verbal

repertoire without referring to the speech community repertoire for
two reasons. First, all individuals belong to distinct speech communities
which range from small to large and they are distinguished from hard
shelled to soft shelled communities (Saville-Troike), and second, speech
communities have a long term impact on people socially and
psychologically speaking besides the linguistic competence of each
speaker. In a monolingual society, the community repertoire represents
the group of varieties on one language because competence is
restricted to one code; however, when a community is monolingual as
France, it is certain that individuals could be multilingual. On the
contrary, in a multilingual country as Canada, India and Ireland, many
languages are introduced and they are as well official, individuals could
be monolinguals though. In this prospect, the verbal repertoire
distinguishes speech communities and populations though each variety
is still used contextually.

Register : The register refers to the way an individual uses language

which differs from one occupation to another. For clarity, a register is a
variation of language based on distinct contexts of use, and degree of
formality. To illustrate, the language used in media, university, radio,
and so forth. Thus, the register of different fields is recognized with
different terminologies and vocabulary. Each person has his/her own
specialty for this reason people who are not specialized in an
occupation, they are likely to fail in understanding the meaning of its
register. Actually, registers can be seen in different forms of
communication, as spoken discourse and written productions as it all
depends on syntax and grammar. The register could be either rigid or
intimate, thus there are types of register.

The Frozen: this type includes the group of registers that do not change;
they are static and highly preserved as the language of holy books as
the Quran, the terminology of constitutions or books of history.

Formal register: this type is not as restrained as the previous one, but as
the name indicates, it is used in academic and professional contexts and
all that is informal is not used. The formal register should be respected
regarding the contraction forms as “don’t, won’t, hasn’t’’ and so forth,
the usage of these forms is limited. The Encyclopedia Britannica is an
example.

Consultative: this type of register is often used in conversations with a

person who is specialized in a particular domain. Unlike the formal
register, the dialect is used from time to time to explain ambiguity.
Pauses and interruptions are expected as well, for example,
interviewing a doctor on a TV show.

Consultative: this type of register is often used in conversations with a

person who is specialized in a particular domain. Unlike the formal
register, the dialect is used from time to time to explain ambiguity.
Pauses and interruptions are expected as well, for example,
interviewing a doctor on a TV show.

As long as registers are specialized varieties, a doctor, as an illustration is obliged

to use his/her own dialect to explain his/her patient’s illness because this patient
is not familiar with the medical register. In this vein, dialects are acquired from the
environment, whereas registers are learned. By contrast, jargon is a specialized
terminology that may be used in a small group (e.g., professional jargon of people
belonging to a particular field) until it is utilized by larger populations and this
needs time, it is as well open to change.

Examples of medical jargon: Agonal (concept used to identify a negative change in

a patient’s health condition; FX ( medical fracture); K ( the elemental symbol for
potassium); RBC’s ( red blood cells); Anomaly ( the presence of an abnormal
deviation or unexpected mass in human body).

Examples of internet jargon: FAQ (frequently asked questions); WWW (World

Wide Web); BTW (by the way).

Examples of police jargon: Suspect (a person who has possibly committed a

crime); FTP (failure to pay a fine); code eight (officer needs urgent assistance).