INTRODUCTION
Language varies in different ways – from one social group to another, from one geographical area to another, and from even within the same language, speakers speak differently to reflect their unique environment or context of usage. This unit is the first in the series of other units that will be dealing with some varieties of language. The general way of referring to the varieties of language is to call them dialects. The term “lect” is used by some scholars in Linguistics to refer to variety of a language. The different types of lects we shall be discussing in this unit include idiolect, dialect, soiolect, ecolect, ethnolect.
The term “dialect” has various applications. In this unit, we shall look at the various applications of the term dialect; for instance, the varieties of speech of speakers of the same language who are located in different geographical areas (dialect). We shall also look at how the social groupings in the society reflect the different ways people who belong to such groups express their world in their use of language (sociolect). Lastly, we shall look at how the features of people’s pronunciation reflect their geographical background (accent).
3.1 Dialect
What is dialect? Dialect refers to the features of grammar and vocabulary, which convey information about a person’s geographical origin. Speakers of the same language spread across different locations may speak in ways that are slightly different to reflect their geographical setting. Dialects often result from historical and geographical dispersal or separation of members from the original speech community. For instance, English, which was originally located in the British Isles, has dialects spread across the world far away from its original community.
So, English has the native dialect – dialects spoken by some people as their mother tongue in places such as Britain, America, Australia, Canada, and South Africa. It also has non-native dialects, which are also called institutionalised variety – dialects spoken by some people who possess their mother tongue, which is different from English. For such people, English is their second language. Such dialects include the ones spoken in Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Singapore, etc), West Africa (Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, etc), East Africa (Kenya, Uganda).
Dialects are often defined as language variety according to user, i.e., they are the product of where the users come from. For example, speakers of English in the different regions where the language is spoken speak it differently to reflect the realities of their linguistic settings. This is particularly noticeable in the lexical items and the structure of the variety. For instance, in the variety of English spoken in Nigeria, there are some lexical items, such as the terms cited below, which do not exist in the native English.
Decampee (someone who decamps from a party to another)
Okada (motorcycles used as means of transportation in the country)
Every language in the world has dialects; however, there is a range of dialects that are considered by speakers to be standard because of the prestige associated with them. It may also be that the speakers of this dialect are the remnants of where it originates from. It should however, be clear that all dialects are equally correct, expressive and logical. In this sense, no dialect should be seen as superior to the other. Each dialect is used to express the culture of the speakers.
To determine if two varieties are dialects of the same language, they have to be mutually intelligible. Mutual intelligibility refers to the ability of speakers of two varieties to converse fluently with each other.
SELF-ASSESSMENT EXERCISE
Identify some dialects of your language. How do these dialects differ from one another?
3.2 Accent
The term accent is different from dialect in the sense that it refers mainly to the features of pronunciation, which indicate the regional or the social identity of a speaker. It is also a characteristic pronunciation determined by the phonetic habits of the speaker's native language carried over to his or her use of another language. Accent is only part of dialect variation.
There is a tendency for people to think that to speak with an accent is to speak a substandard variety. It is however the case that everyone who speaks a language, speaks it with an accent. A particular accent essentially reflects a person's linguistic background. When people listen to someone speak with a different accent from their own, they notice the difference, and they may even make certain biased social judgments about the speaker. However, such biased social judgments are not correct.
3.3 Sociolect
A sociolect is the language spoken by a social group, social class or subculture. It is a portmanteau term combining the words "social" and "dialect", which in this regard differs from an idiolect – which is the form of a language peculiar to an individual – and a dialect, which is a form of speech peculiar to a certain area. However, dialects often have a particular social status, so that a given variant may be considered simultaneously a dialect and a sociolect.
In every society, and regional dialects, these varieties emerge as a result of speakers’ education and social status of groups of people who relate often together, thereby, speaking the same way. It is this variety they speak that we refer to as sociolect. For instance, the low class and the impoverished people form a social class or group. In Nigeria for instance, the regional variety, often referred to as Nigerian English, has the educated and the uneducated varieties. The uneducated use a variety that is characterised by wrong use of grammatical tenses for example. The variety has a low social prestige, when compared with the educated Nigerian English variety. The speakers are mostly people who perform unskilled labour and artisans. The educated English is used by the elites – senior civil servants, educated professionals, graduates and so on. It is regarded as the standard form, which has the British English as its model.
Apart from the educated and the uneducated varieties, other social groups within the society also have their varieties. These include the youths, students, and so forth. Speakers of the educated variety may have difficulty making themselves understood by the less educated speakers. However, most speakers strive to understand the standard variety when seen as the prestige variety – used by the people of importance and the educated.
3.4 Idiolect
Idiolect refers to the features of speech peculiar to individuals in the society. It ranges from phonological features, such as voice and intonation to discourse phenomena in naturally-occurring conversation. A person’s idiolect makes another person to recognise his voice when he is speaking in the next room to the person.
3.5 Other Varieties
Other varieties that have been identified by sociolinguists are ethnolects (variety of language spoken by people who come from the same ethnic group). The Wikipedia Dictionary defines an ethnolect as a variant of a language spoken by a certain ethnic/cultural subgroup and serves as a distinguishing mark of social identity. The term combines the concepts of a ethnic group and dialect. A good example of ethnolect is the African American variety of American English. It may not be so easy differentiating between ‘dialect’ and ‘ethnolect’ .
Another variety that has been identified is ecolect. An ecolect is a language dialect unique to a household (from the Greek eco (oikos) for house, as in economy or ecology, and lect for language). An ecolect probably evolves from an idiolect, which is individual specific, when other household members adopt that individual's unique words and phrases that are not in use in surrounding households or the wider community.
4.0 CONCLUSION
Language is a social institution and it varies from one individual to another and from one social group to another. Speakers of the same language use it differently on account of their experiences. Varieties such as dialects, idiolects, and sociolects can be distinguished not only by their vocabulary, but also by differences in grammar, phonology and prosody.
5.0 SUMMARY
In this unit, we examined four different ways a language can vary in its use by individuals and the society: dialect (variety according to user) accent (a variety distinguished by features of pronunciation, which indicate the region of origin of the speaker); sociolect (a variety used by a social group); idiolect (a variety used by an individual speaker); ethnolect (a variety used by people of the same ethno-cultural group); and ecolect (a variety used by members of the same household).
6.0 TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT
1. What is dialect, and how does it differ from accent?
2. Differentiate between idiolect and ethnolect.
3. Identify and discuss some regional dialects of English across the world.
4. Identify and discuss the social dialects of English in Nigeria.
7.0 REFERENCES/FURTHER READING
Crystal, D. (1987). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press.
Lyons, J. (1981). Language and Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Yule, G. (1995). The Study of Language. Cambridge: CUP.
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