"Variation is a characteristic of language: there is more than one way of saying the same thing."
Different types of language variation and the factors that contribute to them.
Phonetics: The study of sounds in human language, including differences in pronunciation across different dialects.
Phonology: The study of sound patterns and their relationship to language structure, including variations in phonological rules across dialects.
Morphology: The study of word formation and how words are constructed in different dialects.
Syntax: The study of sentence structure and how it varies across different dialects.
Lexicon: The study of vocabulary and how it varies across different dialects.
Sociolinguistics: The study of the relationship between language and social factors, including how dialects are related to region, ethnicity, gender, and other variables.
Historical linguistics: The study of how dialects change over time and how they are related to each other through language evolution.
Language contact: The study of the interactions between different dialects and languages, and how they influence each other.
Accent and dialect training: The study of how to learn and adopt different dialects and accents for acting, public speaking, and other purposes.
Dialectology: The study of the geographic distribution and historical development of different dialects and language communities.
Regional dialects: These dialects vary based on the geographical location of a certain community or region. For example, American English has Southern, Midwestern, and Northeastern dialects.
Sociolects: These dialects are influenced by the social and economic class of a particular group or community. Some examples include the language differences between working-class and middle-class communities.
Ethnolects: These dialects are based on the cultural or ethnic background of a community. Examples include the language variations between African American English, Chicano English, and Jewish English.
Idiolects: These dialects are unique to an individual and are based on a person's unique background, experiences, and speech patterns.
Genderlects: These dialects differ based on gender, with men and women using language differently in terms of pitch, intonation, and word choice.
Generational dialects: These dialects vary based on the generation of speakers, with younger speakers often adopting new words, phrases, and slang that are not commonly used by older generations.
Professional dialects: These dialects are based on the profession or industry of a person, with professionals in science, law, and medicine typically using different language than those in other fields.
Stylistic dialects: These dialects change based on the style of communication or medium, such as written language versus spoken language, formal versus informal language, or language used in a specific genre like poetry or comedy.
Standard dialects: These dialects are the most widely accepted and used forms of a language, which are promoted by institutions such as schools, media, and governments.
Pidgins and Creoles: These dialects are formed when two languages come into contact, resulting in a simplified version of both languages. Pidgins are simplified forms of communication used when speakers do not share a common language, while Creoles are fully developed languages that have elements of both the original languages.
"Speakers may vary in pronunciation (accent), word choice (lexicon), or morphology and syntax (sometimes called 'grammar')."
"But while the diversity of variation is great, there seem to be boundaries on variation – speakers do not generally make drastic alterations in word order or use novel sounds that are completely foreign to the language being spoken."
"Linguistic variation does not equate to language ungrammaticality."
"Speakers are still (often unconsciously) sensitive to what is and is not possible in their native lect."
"Variationists study how a language changes by observing it."
"For example, variation is studied by looking at linguistic and social environments, then the data is analyzed as the change occurs."
"Variation in research programs must be malleable due to the nature of language itself."
"This is because language is also fluid in transition and does not shift from one state to another instantaneously."
"Language variation is a core concept in sociolinguistics."
"Sociolinguists investigate whether this linguistic variation can be attributed to differences in the social characteristics of the speakers using the language."
"Sociolinguists... also investigate whether elements of the surrounding linguistic context promote or inhibit the usage of certain structures."
"Studies of language variation and its correlation with sociological categories led to the foundation of sociolinguistics as a subfield of linguistics."
"Although contemporary sociolinguistics includes other topics..."
"...language variation and change remains an important issue at the heart of the field."
"Variation is a characteristic of language: there is more than one way of saying the same thing."
"Speakers may vary in pronunciation (accent)..."
"...word choice (lexicon), or morphology and syntax (sometimes called 'grammar')."
"Speakers are still (often unconsciously) sensitive to what is and is not possible in their native lect."
"Variationists study how a language changes by observing it."