what is the differece between language and dialect?

Answer 1

I'm a linguist, so I will give you the definition that linguists use. By definition, two forms of communication are dialects of the same language if they are mutually intelligible. That means, if two people who are speaking different forms can understand each other, they are speaking two dialects of the same language. Likewise, if two people cannot understand each other, they are speaking different languages.

It turns out in practice that this definition is affected by sociopolitical factors. For example, the different forms of communication used in China are often called "dialects" of Chinese, even though they are not mutually intelligible, for political reasons. The Chinese government wants to make it seem like their people are more linguistically unified. On the other hand, speakers of Norwegian and Danish can understand each other very easily, but they call their dialects by different names because they want to point out that they live in different countries.

Also, the mutual intelligibility definition is not completely easy to work out, because there are varying degrees of mutual intelligibility between certain dialects of languages. For example, I am a speaker of American English, and I therefore have the same native language as speakers of Irish English. However, I haven't been exposed to much Irish English, so sometimes I find it difficult to understand. I find British English easier to understand because I've been exposed to it on television, for example.

Nevertheless, mutual intelligibility is the factor that people use to distinguish dialect from language. Linguists also get around these difficulties by using the term "variety", which can work for either a dialect or a language.

ADDITIONAL: The definition that the previous person gave you is actually better as a discussion of standard vs. nonstandard dialect, rather than language vs. dialect. In many countries, dialects that don't have high status are called "dialect", while dialects that have high status are called "languages". That's another example of how sociopolitical factors can affect this discussion.

Answer 2

English has many dialects. First of all you have the proper english, as used in England. Then you have the strong Liverpool dialect, which is still english, but with a strong british accent and slightly different words. American english is spoken much differently than UK english. And american english has many different dialects too. Southerners speak very differently than northerners, and some words are unique to their specific areas. Different slangs also. Black people also have a different way of speaking than most whites. Its all english, but spoken very differently. Think of it like chevys (cars). The language is Chevolet, the dialect is Impala or Monte Carlo. You dont know chevy? Ok Toyota. The language is Toyota, the dialect would be Highlander or Celica. Hope that helps. Cheers.

Answer 3

Just to add to Dr Shorty's answer, there can be a problem with mutual intelligibility in that it may not be 'mutual'; for example, I speak some variety of English from Southern England, which is pretty common on TV and in general use; I would have no problem being understood in Newcastle, Belfast, or Glasgow. However, I might have a lot of difficulty understanding them. They know my dialect, but to me theirs are somewhat foreign.

Another difficulty arises where there are transition zones between what are definitely distinct languages, but there is no clear boundary - there are a sequence of dialects shading from one language gradually into the other. This used to be the case in parts of Eastern Europe, maybe less so now.

Answer 4

I agree with those commonsensical linguists who define a language as a dialect which has a flag to wave. The differences are just too fluid to pin them down any other way.

A typical example from Britain is Lawlans, a Germanic dialect of Scotland with its own literature, certainly no mutual understandability with the Queens English, but no national flag to wave.

Another one are the 2 nearly identical dialects of German spoken in the Saar/Mosel area, Saarlaendisch and Letzemburgisch, both with a literature, but Letzemburgisch is one of the official languages of Luxemburg, where Saarlaendisch is considered to be a dialect, although no native speaker of any other dialect can understand them.

Swiss German is yet another one. Standard German is one of the official languages, although nobody in Switzerland is a native speaker thereof, the language they really speak is considered a dialect, because it has no official status, although it has an extensive literature, and is not mutually understandable to speakers of Standard German, or Swiss alike.

Answer 5

Language and dialect?
A language is the official way to talk, the main way to talk in a country. Dialect is the variation of this official language.

The difference is very prominent in Germany:

High German is the offcial language, which was spoken by Martin Luther, who translated the Bible from Latin to German. Since many Peple at this time wold read the Bible, Luther's German became high German, the official language.

However, pure high German is noT spoken by many in Germany, most people's high German is colored by the dialect of their area, e.g. the Hessen, the Niedersachsen, or Bavarian, people there speaking mainlyl variations in words, spelling and pronunciation of high German.

Pure high German is mainly spoken by actors, professional speakers, and people from highly educated families.

From a point of those who speak a dialect, their dialect is their language. It is all relative!

Happy talk.
Cordially, India.Magica

Answer 6

An old saying - I don't know source and may mess it up, but it fits:

"A language is a dialect with an Army and a Navy"

Basically, whoever rules calls what thay speak a "language" and any other version is a "dialect."

Answer 7

Each country has a general language such as English or Spanish, etc. Then, within each country/nation there are regions that evolve their own peculiar sounds, sayings, and words that people within that region can relate to. In the United States there are several, like Southern, New England, Western and then, Texas! lolrof. It's all English, but with some subtle and some not so subtle differences.

Answer 8

The best way I can describe it is to cite examples:
Language: English
Dialect: Southern
A dialect is a region's or group of people's way of speaking a specific language.

Answer 9

a dialect is a spoken form of communication. A language is a spoken form of communication which can also be written. A language usually has a specific set of rules.

Answer 10

Language is languages we speak and Dialect is what people speak in Scotland and Ireland.......... besides English.