Lolly Water and Gym Boots

What do you call a carbonated beverage? Is it pop, soda, or soda pop? How about a fizzy drink or lolly water? Is it a soft drink? Or do you use the term coke to describe lots of varieties and flavors?

What about shoes you wear for athletics? Are these trainers, sneakers, or tennis shoes? Joggers, sandshoes, or gym boots? How about tackies or rubber shoes?

Although these are all English words to describe common items, English speakers use different words in their particular region of the world. These are two small examples of how languages can vary depending on where they are spoken. This lesson will discuss the definitions of language and dialects. You’ll also consider your own dialect, accent, and language background.

The Definition of Language

So, it’s clear that words for the same idea can be different even within one language. They can vary from region to region. Yet if a person calls their carbonated drink ‘lolly water’ while you call it ‘pop,’ you are still able to have a conversation. You could even discuss these words or joke with one another about that difference. This is because you share the same overall language.

You can think of language as a system of communication in which the meaning of the sounds used by a particular group are understood by others who share the language. In the most basic sense, we can be reasonably confident we share a language in common if you talk to me and I can understand most of the words you’re saying, and vice versa. This is known as mutual intelligibility.

Defining language is sometimes a tricky business. If you and I understand one another and we meet a third person who can also understand us, you might think that we all share the same language. But what if WE can’t understand THEM? Are we all speaking the same language or not? This is an example of a topic of conversation for those who study languages.

Achieving mutual intelligibility might also be tougher when we have an accent that the other person finds hard to understand, even if the words are mostly in common. Linguistic experts take a look at these types of topics to understand the differences in languages and how they developed.

The Definition of Dialect

So, what about when you can understand some, but not all, of what a person is saying? Is this a different language even if you understand a lot of the words used?

This is where the term dialect can be useful. Dialect describes a variation in a language and may include different ways of pronouncing a word, different spellings, or different choices of words. The different words for carbonated beverages and athletic shoes are good examples of different versions of the same word within a language, a type of regional dialect.

Dialects can get more complicated than a few words here and there. Variations in dialects in certain regions can mean that mutual intelligibility when speaking the language is not that likely. For instance, the Chinese language can have a great many varieties, and not everyone will understand one another. To a lesser degree, if you grew up in the United States and travel to England, you may also have trouble understanding some of the people you encounter, at least at first.

A related but distinct concept is that of accent. Accents are the way that we sound when we pronounce words. Accents can be part of a particular dialect. For example, if you are from certain parts of the United States, you might use the term ‘y’all.’ This is a regional dialect. The way a person says this and other words is their accent.

Your Own Dialect

Have you ever felt that you don’t have an accent but that others do or that you speak the official language and others speak a dialect? It’s very common to hear one’s own speech as normal and standard, yet find the speech of others to be the variation.

The reality is that yes, you have an accent, whether you realize it or not. We all do. Our accent is simply the way we sound when we talk. You also are speaking a regional dialect of your language because you choose words that are different than other regions.

Many people will compare their own speech to national news anchors, which are considered a more neutral version of the English language. These and other television personalities are often trained to avoid any obvious regional distinctions. This helps them move from one area of the country to another and to broadcast nationally.

Many of us are trained from hearing this all of our lives and being taught this way in school to see this as the standard, but it’s helpful to remember that there are many ways of speaking one language. Interestingly, our way of speaking can even change as we move to a new language region that uses different words or has a different accent than our own.

Lesson Summary

Language is a system of communication in which the meaning of the sounds used by a particular group are understood by others who share the language. Sharing a language often means mutual intelligibility, or in other words, you talk to me, and I can understand most of the words you’re saying, and vice versa.

A dialect is a variation in a language and may include different ways of pronouncing a word, different spellings, or different choices of words. Various regions will have different dialects. Accents are often part of different dialects. An accent is the way that we sound when we pronounce words.

It’s important to remember that we’re all speaking a variation of a language and that we each have our own accent and the capacity to alter our ways that we speak if we are exposed to other dialects.

While some language regions can have dialects that involve just a few words that are different, other regions may have more drastic differences in how people speak the language. Sometimes, those who speak different dialects do not experience mutual intelligibility. Experts in linguistics look at how languages evolve in this way and how different regions have developed their own patterns of speech.