dialects

Noun

dialect (plural dialects)

1. (strict-sense) A lect (often a regional or minority language) as part of a group or family of languages, especially if they are viewed as a single language, or if contrasted with a standardized idiom that is considered the 'true' form of the language (for example, Bavarian as contrasted with Standard German).
   • The question could be put: 'Is there anything inherent in a dialect which gives it a negative stigma or is it that the status of the majority of the speakers is transferred to the dialect?' — something that occurs in many regions in different countries.1995, Michael [G.] Clyne, The German language in a changing Europe, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 117

   Synonyms:

   patois

2. (broadly) A variety of a language that is characteristic of a particular area, community, or social group, differing from other varieties of the same language in relatively minor ways as regards grammar, phonology, and lexicon.
   • And in addition, many dialects of English make no morphological distinction between Adjectives and Adverbs, and thus use Adjectives in contexts where the standard language requires -ly Adverbs1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational Grammar: A First Course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 139
3. (derogatory) Language that is perceived as substandard or wrong.
   • Well, those children don't speak dialect, not in this school. Maybe in the public schools, but not here.1975, H. Carl, Linguistic Perspectives on Black English, page 219
4. (colloquial, offensive) A language existing only in an oral or non-standardized form, especially a language spoken in a developing country or an isolated region.

   Synonyms:

   vernacular

5. A variant of a non-standardized programming language.
   • Home computers in the 1980s had many incompatible dialects of BASIC.
6. A variant form of the vocalizations of a bird species restricted to a certain area or population.
   • A curious question, which has as yet attracted but little attention, is whether the notes of the same species of Bird are in all countries alike. From my own observation I am inclined to think that they are not, and that there exist "dialects," so to speak, of the song.1896, Alfred Newton, A Dictionary of Birds, page 893