ESLP 4100 Dr. Comer DIALECT DEFINITIONS DR. COMER ESLP 4100 DIALECT DEFINITIONS DR. COMER ESLP 4100

A form of a language spoken by a group of people from the same regional or cultural background. Everyone speaks a dialect, even though some dialects are more noticeable than others. This depends on what you think is normal.

When people from certain regions or cultural backgrounds pronounce the same words differently, it is called a dialect pronunciation or accent. For example, some people from New England pronounce the word car and far without the r. Some people from West Virginia say oncet for once and acrosst for across.

When people use different words for the same thing, or when the same word means something different it is called a dialect vocabulary difference. For example, some people in Pittsburgh use the word gumband in place of rubber band. People in other parts of the United States use the positive context of the word anymore as in Anymore, we go to the movies a lot

When people put together their sentences or their words in different ways, it is called a dialect grammar difference. For example, some people from West Virginia and western Pennsylvania say The house needs painted when people from other parts of the United States say The house needs to be painted. Also, some people from the Appalachian region may say The needs a- painten’.