Subdialect (from Latin , "under", and
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
, ''diálektos'', "discourse") is a
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
term designating a
dialectological
Dialectology (from Greek , ''dialektos'', "talk, dialect"; and , '' -logia'') is the scientific study of dialects: subsets of languages. Though in the 19th century a branch of historical linguistics, dialectology is often now considered a sub-fiel ...
category between the levels of
dialect
A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...
and
idiolect. Subdialects are basic subdivisions of a dialect.
Definition of Subdialect by Merriam-Webster
/ref> Subdialects can be divided further, ultimately down to idiolects. Subdialects of one dialect are generally quite close to each other, differing mainly in pronunciation and certain local words.
See also
* Accent (dialect)
* Variety (linguistics)
In sociolinguistics, a variety, also known as a lect or an isolect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, registers, styles, or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety.Meec ...
* Language cluster
* Dubrovnik subdialect
* Laško subdialect
* Lwów subdialect
* Supradialect
References
Literature
* Joseph R. Applegate, "Phonological Rules of a Subdialect of English", Word, vol. 17/2 (1961), p. 186-193.
* Asta Leskauskaite, "The Periphery Subdialects of Southwestern Lithuania and the Slavic Languages", Acta Baltico-Slavica, 30 (2006), p. 391-402.
Dialects
Language varieties and styles
{{ling-stub