dialect

Pronunciation

• IPA ^(key): /ˈdɑɪ.ə.ˌlɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular dialect

Plural dialects

1. A dialect is a version of a language. People who speak different dialects might sound different or word meanings might be a little different. People speaking different dialects talk similar enough that they can understand each other. (If people cannot understand each other, they speak different languages, not different dialects.)

   The dialect of the southern United States is quite different from that of the north.

Related words

• dialectal
• dialectic
• dialectally
• dialectical
• dialectician
• dialectics
• language
• sociolect
• idiolect
• ethnolect
• dialogue