Definition and Examples of Language Varieties

Definition and Examples of Language Varieties
by
Richard Nordquist
Updated May 30, 2019
In sociolinguistics, language variety—also called lect—is a general term for any distinctive form of a
language or linguistic expression. Linguists commonly use language variety (or simply variety) as a cover
term for any of the overlapping subcategories of a language, including dialect, register, jargon, and
idiolect.
Background
To understand the meaning of language varieties, it's important to consider how lects differ from
standard English. Even what constitutes standard English is a topic of hot debate among linguists.
Standard English is a controversial term for a form of the English language that is written and spoken by
educated users. For some linguists, standard English is a synonym for good or correct English usage.
Others use the term to refer to a specific geographical dialect of English or a dialect favored by the most
powerful and prestigious social group.
Varieties of language develop for a number of reasons: differences can come about for geographical
reasons; people who live in different geographic areas often develop distinct dialects—variations of
standard English. Those who belong to a specific group, often academic or professional, tend to adopt
jargon that is known to and understood by only members of that select group. Even individuals develop
idiolects, their own specific ways of speaking.
Dialect
The word dialect—which contains "lect" within the term—derives from the Greek words dia- meaning
"across, between" and legein "speak." A dialect is a regional or social variety of a language distinguished
by pronunciation, grammar, and/or vocabulary. The term dialect is often used to characterize a way of
speaking that differs from the standard variety of the language. Sarah Thomason of the Linguistic
Society of America notes:
"All dialects start with the same system, and their partly independent histories leave different parts of
the parent system intact. This gives rise to some of the most persistent myths about language, such as
the claim that the people of Appalachia speak pure Elizabethan English."
Certain dialects have gained negative connotations in the U.S. as well as in other countries. Indeed, the
term dialect prejudice refers to discrimination based on a person's dialect or way of speaking. Dialect
prejudice is a type of linguicism—discrimination based on dialect. In their article "Applied Social
Dialectology," published in "Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and
Society," Carolyn Temple and Donna Christian observe:
"...dialect prejudice is endemic in public life, widely tolerated, and institutionalized in social enterprises
that affect almost everyone, such as education and the media. There is limited knowledge about and
little regard for linguistic study showing that all varieties of a language display systematicity and that
the elevated social position of standard varieties has no scientific linguistic basis."
Due to this kind of dialectic prejudice, Suzanne Romaine, in "Language in Society," notes: "Many
linguists now prefer the term variety or lect to avoid the sometimes pejorative connotations that the
term 'dialect' has."
Register
Register is defined as the way a speaker uses language differently in different circumstances. Think
about the words you choose, your tone of voice, even your body language. You probably behave very
differently chatting with a friend than you would at a formal dinner party or during a job interview.
These variations in formality, also called stylistic variation, are known as registers in linguistics.
They are determined by such factors as social occasion, context, purpose, and audience. Registers are
marked by a variety of specialized vocabulary and turns of phrases, colloquialisms, the use of jargon, and
a difference in intonation and pace.
Registers are used in all forms of communication, including written, spoken, and signed. Depending on
grammar, syntax, and tone, the register may be extremely rigid or very intimate. You don't even need to
use an actual word to communicate effectively. A huff of exasperation during a debate or a grin while
signing "hello" speaks volumes.
Jargon
Jargon refers to the specialized language of a professional or occupational group. Such language is often
meaningless to outsiders. American poet David Lehman has described jargon as "the verbal sleight of
hand that makes the old hat seem newly fashionable; it gives an air of novelty and specious profundity
to ideas that, if stated directly, would seem superficial, stale, frivolous, or false."
George Packer describes jargon in a similar vein in a 2016 article in the New Yorker magazine:
“Professional jargon—on Wall Street, in humanities departments, in government offices—can be a fence

raised to keep out the uninitiated and permit those within it to persist in the belief that what they do is
too hard, too complex, to be questioned. Jargon acts not only to euphemize but to license, setting
insiders against outsiders and giving the flimsiest notions a scientific aura.”
Pam Fitzpatrick, a senior research director at Gartner, a Stamford, Connecticut-based research and
advisory firm specializing in high tech, writing on LinkedIn, puts it more bluntly:
"Jargon is waste. Wasted breath, wasted energy. It absorbs time and space but does nothing to further
our goal of persuading people to help us solve complex problems."
In other words, jargon is a faux method of creating a sort of dialect that only those on this inside group
can understand. Jargon has social implications similar to dialect prejudice but in reverse: It is a way of
making those who understand this particular variety of language more erudite and learned; those who
are members of the group that understands the particular jargon are considered smart, while those on
the outside are simply not bright enough to comprehend this kind of language.
Types of Lects
In addition to the distinctions discussed previously, different types of lects also echo the types of
language varieties:
Regional dialect: A variety spoken in a particular region.
Sociolect: Also known as a social dialect, a variety of language (or register) used by a socioeconomic
class, a profession, an age group, or any other social group.
Ethnolect: A lect spoken by a specific ethnic group. For example, Ebonics, the vernacular spoken by
some African-Americans, is a type of ethnolect, notes e2f, a language-translation firm.
Idiolect: According to e2f, the language or languages spoken by each individual. For example, if you are
multilingual and can speak in different registers and styles, your idiolect comprises several languages,
each with multiple registers and styles.
In the end, language varieties come down to judgments, often "illogical," that are, according to Edward
Finegan in "Language: Its Structure and Use":
"...imported from outside the realm of language and represent attitudes to particular varieties or to
forms of expression within particular varieties."
The language varieties, or lects, that people speak often serve as the basis for judgment, and even
exclusion, from certain social groups, professions, and business organizations. As you study language
varieties, keep in mind that they are often based on judgments one group is making in regard to
another.
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Definition and Examples of Language Varieties

Updated May 30, 2019

“Professional jargon—on Wall Street, in humanities departments, in government offices—can be a fence

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