What is a sociolect or social dialect?

The social dialect is a variety of the language used by a certain social group. It is also known as a sociolect and it can be about the language used by a social class as well as the way groups of friends speak, in the same academic environment and more.

what is a dialect

A language is a system composed of symbols that allows the oral and written communication of a community. A dialect is the set of variants of a language in a geographical space or social group.

The term dialect derives from the Latin word dialectus , which in turn comes from the Greek dialektos , meaning “way of speaking” or “discussion”. It also derives from the late Greek dialégesphai , which means “to talk”.

For example, Spanish is not spoken in the same way in Spain as it is in other Spanish-speaking countries. Different varieties of Spanish are spoken in different areas, which are characteristic of the geographic location where each population lives. Although it is still the same language, those variants constitute dialects of Spanish.

For example, in the Argentinean and Mexican Spanish dialects there are differences in pronunciation, lexical repertoire, tone, speed of speaking, the way of assembling sentences and even writing.

Dialect types

The word dialect is generally used to designate a specific type of dialect: the geographic one. However, there are actually two main types of dialects:

• The geographic dialect : they are called “diatopic variants” or “geolects”, and they are the variations of a language that occur in the different populations that speak it. These variations occur due to geographical separation and the passage of time.
• The social dialect : they are called “diastratic variants” or more commonly “sociolects”. They are the variations of a language that occur in different classes and social groups.

Definition of social dialect

Like the geographic dialect, the sociolect is a variety of language. However, it is a more specific concept: a type of language shared by certain social groups. The dialect, on the other hand, is a linguistic variety spoken by different social groups in a geographical region.

The social dialect or sociolect is a concept of sociolinguistics, a branch of linguistics that studies the relationship between society and language. The sociolect can be defined as the way of speaking of a group of people. It is about all the variations that occur in the language in a particular group within society, which can be a work group, people who have the same profession or the same age, etc. Sociolect is also known as group idiolect or class dialect.

Social groups are groups of people who fulfill a role in society according to certain norms, values ​​and objectives. Social groups can be primary, such as family and friends; or secondary, such as a union or a cultural association. They can also be informal, belonging or reference.

Social groups use a certain sociolect that members share and allows them to communicate with each other. Because the sociolect is used in a certain social group, members of other groups may not understand some of its terms, phrases, and expressions. An example is the terminology used among different doctors and the medical staff of a hospital.

Characteristics of the sociolects

As mentioned above, the sociolects are the variants of the language in the different social groups. Some of the most important factors that determine the characteristics of sociolects are:

• The cultural level, which depends on the education or training received by the speakers of the social group.
• The age, where each age group uses different expressions and vocabulary.
• The profession, whose vocabulary can be more specific, formal or technical.
• The habitat, the place where the social group lives, such as an urban or rural area.

Types of social dialects or sociolects

Taking into account the variations of the spoken language according to the social classes, the sociolects can be divided into the following types:

• Acrolect : it is related to a high educational and cultural level, and to high social classes. It is the closest to the “standard language” or accepted speech in society.
• Mesolect : refers to the variations of the language of the middle social class. Although it is related to the standard language, it presents more differences.
• Basilect : it is the variety of the way of speaking of the popular sectors, low socioeconomic levels or low social classes. They are generally variants that occur in social groups with a low degree of schooling. It is a level that is further away from the standard language that society recognizes as a model.

According to the language level, the sociolects can be classified into:

• Educated language: it is the most perfect form of the language. It is possible to find it more frequently in literary and scientific texts. It allows to express knowledge and complex thoughts. It is used in academic settings and is characterized by its precision, fluency, and lexical richness.
• Colloquial language : it is the one used in everyday life to talk with family and friends. Although it respects the norms and rules of the language, it also includes errors. It presents a simple vocabulary, fillers, use of augmentatives, exclamations and unfinished sentences, among others.
• Jargon: it is a linguistic variety different from that of the standard language. Some examples are medical, student or prison jargon. It includes a vocabulary that only the members of the group know, identifies them and differentiates them from others: gamers , athletes, millennials , etc.
• Vulgar language:  they are the variations of the language that include vulgarisms and a great breach of the rules. It is characterized by the omission of vowels or consonants and even syllables, as well as the abuse of fillers and profanity, among others.

Examples of sociolects

Some examples of common sociolect phrases are:

• It has colored wheels. / He has red shoes.
• This is my compadre Luis. / This is my friend Luis.
• The bum is in the house. / The boy is in the house.
• Can you lend me some mangoes? / Can you lend me money?
• Let’s go to the clothing store. / Let’s go to the clothing store.
• Do you want an ice cold beer? / Do you fancy a very cold beer?
• They were working all day. / They were working all day.
• The girl is waiting for the bus. / The young woman is waiting for the bus.
• He and I are partners. / He and I are friends.

Other related concepts

In addition to the concepts mentioned, there are other terms related to sociolects and language variations. Some of them are:

• Idiolect : This term derives from the Greek idios , which means “own” and leksis , which means “language”. Therefore, it is about the characteristic way of speaking of each person. The idiolect is the typical words, tones and pronunciation of a person. The idiolect in its written version is called style .
• Interlect : it is about the use of a second language with the influence of the mother tongue. For example, if a Spanish speaker is learning English as a second language, it is likely that he will have a Spanish accent.
• Chronolect : is a linguistic variant related to the ways of speaking that groups of people of different ages who speak the same language may have.
• Diaphasic varieties : they are the different forms of expression, known as styles or registers, of the speakers in a given situation.

Bibliography

• Various authors. Sociology for restless minds. (2018). Spain. dk.
• Giddens, A.; Sutton, P. W. Sociology . (2018). Spain. Editorial Alliance.
• Definition of sociolect . Definition of. Available at https://definicion.de/sociolecto/ .