Dialects in Linguistics

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Questions and Answers

What is a standard dialect?

A dialect that has changed enough to be be considered a distinct language
A dialect supported by institutions and government recognition (correct)
A spoken and written form of language without government recognition
A variety of language with no formal literature support

What is a dialect?

A standardized form of language recognized by the government
A language variety spoken by socially definable groups
A variety of a language spoken by an identifiable subgroup of people (correct)
A language variety that has changed enough to be considered a distinct language

How do linguists traditionally apply the term 'dialect'?

To standardized language varieties
To socially definable speech varieties
To geographically distinct language varieties (correct)
To non-standard language varieties

Why has determining whether two speech varieties are dialects or distinct languages been difficult and controversial?

Because of noticeable differences in speech varieties (D) Signup and view all the answers

What does institutional support for a standard dialect include?

Government recognition, published grammars, and extensive formal literature (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is an idiolect?

A variety of a language unique to an individual (B) Signup and view all the answers

How does an idiolect differ from slang?

An idiolect is unique to an individual, while slang refers to informal vocabulary not belonging to standard language (A) Signup and view all the answers

What does slang refer to?

Informal vocabulary that does not belong to a language's standard vocabulary (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is an ecolect?

A dialect variant specific to a household (B) Signup and view all the answers

How is a nonstandard dialect different from a standard dialect?

A nonstandard dialect has a complete vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, but is not the beneficiary of institutional support like a standard dialect (A) Signup and view all the answers