Understanding Linguistic Variation and Dialects

Understanding Linguistic Variation

Speakers of the same language do not all express themselves the same way. Various factors, including spatial/geographic, social, and generational influences, cause significant variety in the use of a common language.

Dialects

Dialects are associated with the users, i.e., individuals or groups of people who speak a language. Varieties include:

• Historical varieties: These develop over time.
• Spatial or geographical varieties: These relate speakers to their territorial origin.
• Social varieties: These are defined by the social groups that use them.

Variety of Style

These variations are associated with specific communicative situations and uses, such as formal, colloquial, or vulgar registers.

Standard Variety

Over time, language users establish a common or standard variety among dialects. This standard language aims to minimize dialectal differences by:

• Having a defined standard.
• Adapting to change.
• Presenting different rules or sub-norms.
• Being transmitted via institutions.

Social Varieties

Factors influencing social varieties include:

• Age.
• Habitat: Rural speech is often more conservative than urban speech, which renews more quickly.
• Profession: Specialized language or jargon related to occupations.
• Marginal social groups: Use of slang, which is often more closed, secretive, and transient than professional jargon, disappearing rapidly.
• Sociocultural level: There is a relationship between speakers' cultural background and their language use, leading to cultural varieties, developed language varieties, and restricted varieties.

Variety of Style: Registers

These are linguistic patterns linked to specific communicative situations within various social fields.

Classes of Records (Registers)

Four factors typically define a register:

1. The subject (specialized or general).
2. The level of formality (more or less formal).
3. The channel (oral or written).
4. The intention (objective or subjective).

Formal Registers

Characterized by careful selection of linguistic resources:

• Formal (or Cultivated) Register: Marked by meticulous language use at all levels: phonetic, morphological, and lexical.

Informal Registers

Often occur in direct, spontaneous interpersonal communication.

• Colloquial or Familiar Register: Characterized by spontaneous use of language through expression. Key features include:
  • Spontaneity and lack of planning.
  • Expressiveness of the speaker.
  • Economy of linguistic means employed.