A sociolect is a dialect spoken by a social group.
A sociolect is a type of dialect : a linguistic structure that derives from another and that is usually limited to a certain group, but that lacks the differential characteristics necessary to separate it from other structures of the same origin.
A dialect can be defined, therefore, as a linguistic variety that is characterized by its traits shared by a community . In other words, a dialect is a particular form of a language .
What is a sociolect
With all this clear, we can move forward with the definition of sociolect . It is a social dialect : a variety of language used by a certain class or social group .
Social groups, when developing their discourses, appeal to a sociolect whose members share and which allow them to communicate with each other and, sometimes, with others.
Some examples
Clear examples to understand the term sociolect would be the following:
-While in some social groups one would say “We have been shopping”, in others the same would be expressed in the following way: “We went shopping”.
-While in one social group the expression “we are friends” can be used, in another one would bet on indicating the same thing by saying “we are friends.”
-If in one social group to indicate that you do not have money you would say “I don't have money or I don't have a chavo”, in another you could say “I have zero visa” or even “I don't have cash”.
The terms used in a sociolect may not be understood by those who are not part of the social group in question.
The sociolect, shared by a certain group
Since the sociolect is shared by a group in society , the rest of the members of the community may not understand some terms and expressions used by the speakers. There are cases in which certain words from a sociolect ended up becoming words in widespread use and incorporated into the natural language.
Let's take an example of sociolect. A lower-class Argentine teenager could say to another: “Look at that guy's tires: they sure cost an arm and a leg.” A young man from another social class, on the other hand, will pronounce the same idea in the following way: “Look at that boy's sneakers: they surely cost a lot of money.” Terms such as “tires” and “guachín” and the expression “costs an egg” , therefore, can be associated with a specific sociolect since they are used by a social group.
Differences with an idiolect
It is also important to establish that, sometimes, what is sociolect is often confused with idiolect. However, it must be taken into account that the latter does not refer to the language used by a social group but to that used by an individual, that is, it is the characteristic way that each person expresses themselves. And that means that you count on your phrases, your tone of voice, your expressions, changes or turns in pronunciation...
However, that does not mean that, sometimes, through the aforementioned idiolect, it is possible to be clear or, at least, to intuit to which social group the individual in question may belong. Likewise, it must be said that when reference is made to the way of using the language that that same individual uses when writing, then the term style is used rather than idiolect.