MAYRA MARTINEZ CORTEZ
LANGUAGE VS DIALECT
Aspect Language
A specific variety of a language spoken or
A set of words and all of the systems
signed by a group of people that may have
about usage of those words that a
Concept
group of people uses to
pronunciation from the main form of the
communicate with each other.
Geographical
Often associated with a country.
Scope
Formal Often adopted as “official” by
Recognition countries and states.
Written Forms Has standard written forms.
Intelligibility can be asymmetric,
with speakers of one language
Intelligibility
understanding more of the other
than vice versa.
Sound,
Has a standardized sound,
Structure, and
structure, and meaning.
Meaning
It can be inferred as the historical or
Temporal chronological distance between
Distance different stages of a language or
between different languages
Dialect
different vocabulary, grammar, and
language.
Region-specific.
Rarely receives official status.
Exists largely in oral form.
A dialect becomes a “language” by decree Dutch and Afrikaans are often considered
or declaration; the state gives special
status to a spoken system as an “official are not mutually intelligible in their spoken
language”.
May have different sound, structure, and
meaning from the main form of the
language.
The mean of the thresholds identified
translates into a temporal distance of
around one to one-and-a-half millennia
(1,075–1,635 years).
PIN-S-MA-4-2
Example
Spanish is a language, while Andalusian
Spanish is a dialect of Spanish
French is associated with France, while
Quebec French is specific to Quebec,
Canada.
German is the official language of
Germany, while Bavarian, a dialect of
German, is not officially recognized.
Standard Italian has defined spelling and
grammar rules, while Neapolitan, a dialect
of Italian, is primarily spoken and does not
have standardized written forms.
dialects of the same language, but they
forms.
Standard Portuguese has a standardized
grammar and vocabulary, while Brazilian
Portuguese has different grammar and
vocabulary from Standard Portuguese.
Old English and Modern English could be
considered different “dialects” of English,
separated by over a millennium.