dialectology
Regional speech study
Dialectology is the study of dialects—regional or social varieties of a language.
Dialectologists map how pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar vary across geographic areas or social groups: Her dialectology research tracked vowel shifts in Appalachian speech.
The field emerged in the 19th century with efforts to document linguistic variation before standardization erased it.
Regional speech pattern
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- regionalismLocal area favoritism
- sociolectLanguage variety by group
- idiolectIndividual's unique speech patterns
patois · creole · pidgin · pronunciation · intonation · diglossia · code-switching · register
Science of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
- lexiconVocabulary of a language
sociolinguistics · phonetics · prosody · lexicography · bilingualism · multilingualism · borrowing
Research conducted on location
- surveySystematic data collection
- questionnaireFormal inquiry form
- informantOne who provides intelligence
- elicitationDrawing forth information
Concerning change over time
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
- protolanguageReconstructed ancestral language
- substratumFoundational layer beneath
- etymologyWord origin study
Alphabetical word reference
- glossaryAlphabetical list with definitions
- IPASound notation system
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
- lexemeFundamental dictionary unit
accent
Regional speech pattern
- vernacularEveryday regional speech
- regionalismLocal area favoritism
- sociolectLanguage variety by group
idiolect · patois · creole · pidgin · pronunciation · intonation · diglossia · code-switching · register
phonology
Science of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- syntaxRules for arranging words
- semanticsStudy of linguistic meaning
lexicon · sociolinguistics · phonetics · prosody · lexicography · bilingualism · multilingualism · borrowing
fieldwork
Research conducted on location
- surveySystematic data collection
- questionnaireFormal inquiry form
- informantOne who provides intelligence
diachronic
Concerning change over time
- reconstructionRebuilding after destruction
- protolanguageReconstructed ancestral language
- substratumFoundational layer beneath
etymology · Indo-European · synchronic · archaism · innovation
dictionary
Alphabetical word reference
- glossaryAlphabetical list with definitions
- IPASound notation system
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
- English languagelinguistics, semantics, phonetics, orthography, vocabulary
- etymologyword origins, word history, word origin, etymon, root words
- GreekGreek, Ancient Greek, Modern Greek, Greek alphabet, Greek vocabulary
- dialectspatois, vernaculars, vernacular, regional dialects, regional accent
- linguistic textbooksgrammar manuals, grammar books, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics
- Arabic linguisticsverb conjugation, root system, verb forms, Arabic alphabet, diglossia
dialectologyuniversal grammar
Innate linguistic faculty hypothesis
phonetics · phonology · syntax · morphology · langue