Linguistic Variation

Linguistic variation in a language is as evident as genetic variation in a species.

No two speakers of a language produce the language in the same way.

Linguistic variation exists at all levels of the grammar.

Dialects are varieties of the same language.

Ideolects are dialects that are specific to individual speakers.

Accent refers to differences in pronunciation.

Regional dialects are identified by mapping isoglosses.

The criterion of mutual intelligibility is used to distinguish between languages and dialects.

In some regions dialect continuums exhibit continuous variation between languages.

There are cases of one-way intelligibility.

Geography, age, gender, socioeconomic status and group identification all play a role in determining the linguistic features individuals use.

Many dialect features are variable.

African-American English is a well-known variant of Standard American English.

The use of AAE is not identified with a single ethnic group.

AAE has the same degree of grammatical regularity as any other language.

Many linguistic features are associated with gender differences.

This week’s lecture notes

Assignment #10: Take the Kansas Dialect Survey