dialect

noun, often attributive

di·a·lect | \ ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt

Definition of dialect

1 linguistics

a : a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language the Doric dialect of ancient Greek a dialect of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong

b : one of two or more cognate (see cognate entry 1 sense 3a) languages French and Italian are Romance dialects

c : a variety of a language used by the members of a group such dialects as politics and advertising— Philip Howard

d : a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than geography (such as social class) spoke a rough peasant dialect

e : register sense 4c

f : a version of a computer programming language

2 : manner or means of expressing oneself : phraseology

Other Words from dialect Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about dialect

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Other Words from dialect

dialectal \ ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tᵊl

\ adjective

dialectally \ ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tə-lē

\ adverb

Examples of dialect in a Sentence

They speak a southern dialect of French. The author uses dialect in his writing. The play was hard to understand when the characters spoke in dialect.

Recent Examples on the Web Fedspeak is a special dialect of English, spoken only by members of the Federal Reserve (and occasionally other central bankers). — George Calhoun, Forbes, "Janet Yellen Forgets How To Do Fedspeak (Or, What’s That Floating In The Punchbowl?)," 10 May 2021 In November 2019, Hanks -- who came under fire for defending the use of the n-word and previously went viral for speaking in the Jamaican dialect at the 2020 Golden Globes -- admitted that having Tom Hanks as his dad was both a blessing and a curse. — Toyin Owoseje, CNN, "Chet Hanks releases risqué 'White Boy Summer' teaser video," 12 Apr. 2021 The dialect, traditional costumes and signature dishes are also Venetian -- although today this is part of Friuli Venezia Giulia. — Julia Buckley, CNN, "The mini Venices around Europe," 20 Apr. 2021 The other one was the dialect in that movie about Steve Jobs. — Neal Justin, Star Tribune, "Kate Winslet's toughest challenge? Playing TV detective," 15 Apr. 2021 The language of worship is a dialect of Aramaic, the language that Jesus is said to have spoken. — Ramazan Kılınç, The Conversation, "Pope’s upcoming visit brings attention to the dwindling population of Christians in Iraq," 3 Mar. 2021 From Rabat to Baghdad, Arabs learned to mimic Egypt’s distinctive dialect by way of its wildly popular musicals and comedies. — The Economist, "How Egyptian entertainment has changed under military rule," 10 Apr. 2021 Sometimes though, speakers will react to a conversational situation by employing an entirely different dialect or language. — Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, "Conversation starter: Why we mirror speech," 6 Apr. 2021 With a style that conveys the musical cadence of a local dialect, Mbue creates the African village in all its ancient nuance. — Washington Post, "In ‘How Beautiful We Were,’ an African village goes up against an American oil company," 16 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dialect.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.