sociolect
Social group's language
A sociolect is a variety of language associated with a particular social group—defined by class, profession, age, or subculture.
Lawyers share legal jargon, teenagers develop slang their parents don't understand, and working-class speakers may use different grammar than upper-class ones.
The sociolect of Silicon Valley is full of terms like "disrupt" and "pivot."
Everyday regional speech
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- slangInformal in-group vocabulary
- argotGroup-specific coded speech
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
patois · creole · pidgin · lingo · colloquialism · register · idiolect · code
Exclusive social cluster
- out-groupPerceived foreign collective
- membershipState of belonging
- belongingState of fitting in
- solidarityUnity among allies
marker · shibboleth · distinctiveness · affiliation · group identity · community · subculture · tribe
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- diglossiaCoexisting language varieties, distinct roles
- lexiconVocabulary of a language
- phonologyScience of language sounds
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
syntax · semantics · pragmatics · corpus · lexeme · variation · prestige · stigmatization
One's word collection
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
- intonationPitch variation in speech
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
buzzwords · catchphrases · shibboleths · slang terms · expressions · phraseology · parlance · usage
One who provides intelligence
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- interviewFormal questioning session
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
- annotationAdded explanatory comment
corpus · ethnography · questionnaire · variable · variant · frequency · analysis · methodology
vernacular
Everyday regional speech
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- slangInformal in-group vocabulary
- argotGroup-specific coded speech
cant · patois · creole · pidgin · lingo · colloquialism · register · idiolect · code
in-group
Exclusive social cluster
- out-groupPerceived foreign collective
- membershipState of belonging
- belongingState of fitting in
solidarity · marker · shibboleth · distinctiveness · affiliation · group identity · community · subculture · tribe · peer group
code-switching
Alternating between linguistic varieties
- diglossiaCoexisting language varieties, distinct roles
- lexiconVocabulary of a language
- phonologyScience of language sounds
morphology · syntax · semantics · pragmatics · corpus · lexeme · variation · prestige · stigmatization · standardization
vocabulary
One's word collection
- pronunciationManner of speaking words
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
- intonationPitch variation in speech
terminology · buzzwords · catchphrases · shibboleths · slang terms · expressions · phraseology · parlance · usage · neologisms
informant
One who provides intelligence
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- interviewFormal questioning session
- transcriptionWritten version of speech
annotation · corpus · ethnography · questionnaire · variable · variant · frequency · analysis · methodology · sample
social, dialect, lectern, sociology, sociopath, socioeconomic, dialectology, sociocultural, sociolinguistics