Dialectology is dedicated to the study of dialects.
The analysis of dialects is called dialectology . A dialect , meanwhile, is a linguistic variety that does not have the category of language.
It is important to mention that dialect and language (or idiom ), in any case, are concepts with somewhat diffuse boundaries. A language is a system of verbal communication that usually has writing and is typical of a human group. A dialect is usually considered to arise from some type of variation of a language .
Dialectology concept
Dialectology, in this framework, studies the linguistic varieties or modalities that are detected in a community , comparing them. Thanks to the research work of linguistic geography and sociolinguistics , since the 19th and 20th centuries respectively, today we know that all variations can be classified into four large groups: social, geographical, stylistic and historical .
According to dialectology, the social variations of a language are linked to the characteristics of each social class when speaking. Geographic variations , for their part, have to do with the linguistic elements that are used depending on the region, while stylistic variations are associated with the different situations that people face. Historical variations , finally, are due to changes that occur over time or according to age.
The social variations
Returning to the social variations that dialectology studies, we can say that the emergence of classes and strata in all human societies is logical. This results in individuals from different socioeconomic, religious or ethnic groups prioritizing relationships with others who are in the same groups. In this way, the speech becomes homogeneous among them, particularly in the socioeconomic ones, and thus differences appear with those detected in the others.
A classic example can be seen when studying the language variants used by upper-class and working-class people in each society. The features that differentiate them may go unnoticed by the speakers, but they are the object of study in language academies and are often used to fuel discrimination against the less educated portion of the population : the idea that the working class does not speak with the same level of correction as the discharge.
Social variation is strongly linked to several factors that make it especially complex, since it combines age with sex and level of education. In this way, the same individual presents different traits in their use of the language throughout their life due to their interests linked to the stage of their development, their academic training and the sex with which they feel identified.
Dialectology focuses on linguistic variation.
Dialectology studies
Dialectology also focuses on the study of certain phonetic features , lexical forms or phrases that predominate in each group and that attract its members to include them in their way of speaking. For this to take place it is necessary that they feel identified with those who use them, so it does not matter if they are exposed to the traits of another group. Adolescents, for example, often resist the ways of speaking of their elders and, instead, tend to copy those of their peers.
In a broad sense, it can be said that a dialect is a subdivision of a language . Dialectology is responsible for considering these structures, detecting common points and differences .
Linguistic variation, in short, is the object of study of dialectology, whose approach is interdisciplinary since it allows the use of multiple methodologies . It must be taken into account that variations can be investigated from different points of view.