Post by habiba123820 on Nov 6, 2024 4:08:25 GMT
Dialect" and "Language" are two of the most commonly used concepts when we talk about communication. Although most people have heard of them, not many can differentiate or even explain what these two words mean.
The concepts of dialect vs language are especially important for people who work or want to work in translation . This is because you need to master these skills to become a qualified professional linguist.
You don’t need to worry, though! Keep reading this text and you’ll learn everything there is to know about dialect vs language – as well as how and when to use it!
What is language?
Although we talk about language all the time, it is extremely difficult to actually explain what it is. We define language as a type of communication used by a group of people. It seems simple: people wordpress web design agency from Portugal speak Portuguese, Danes speak Danish, Germans speak German, and so on. This is where we often go wrong! Although we usually think of countries, it is important to note that this division is not always correct.
For example, let's consider the Basque Country region in Spain. Even though they are "in" Spain, the Basques have their own habits, culture and way of communicating.
There are several other examples of this, such as indigenous groups in the Americas or the inhabitants of Greenland. As far as cultural habits are concerned, a language is primarily written or oral. Therefore, it is classified as a linguistic idea. A language also has a standardized form that can be spoken or written. This is the characteristic that differentiates a language from a dialect.
What is dialect?
It's easy to understand what a dialect is once we understand the concept of language. Remember when we said that groups of people identify themselves using a specific type of communication?
Well, when there are no established norms yet, these are dialects! It is easier to understand if we think of dialects as being a sub-item of "languages". As a general rule, we think of language as a standardized code, while a dialect does not necessarily have a standardized system. We can use British and American English or even the Portuguese form of Portugal and Brazil as examples of dialects. These examples are all about dialects that share the same language.
Dialect vs Language
Okay, so now we know what a language is and what a dialect is. However, in the real world, the lines between dialect and language can be a bit blurry. What usually differentiates dialects and languages is that dialects are usually just spoken, while languages have written rules. If we follow this logic, a person shouldn’t be able to understand languages other than their native language. How is it possible for someone who is not fluent in a certain language to still understand it? If you speak Spanish, you probably know that you can read Portuguese.
Similarly, a Dutch speaker can read German. The thing is, although each language and dialect has distinct characteristics that make them different, they still have some things in common. This is particularly true for languages that come from the same linguistic tree. This is the case for Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French; or English, German, and Danish.
The concepts of dialect vs language are especially important for people who work or want to work in translation . This is because you need to master these skills to become a qualified professional linguist.
You don’t need to worry, though! Keep reading this text and you’ll learn everything there is to know about dialect vs language – as well as how and when to use it!
What is language?
Although we talk about language all the time, it is extremely difficult to actually explain what it is. We define language as a type of communication used by a group of people. It seems simple: people wordpress web design agency from Portugal speak Portuguese, Danes speak Danish, Germans speak German, and so on. This is where we often go wrong! Although we usually think of countries, it is important to note that this division is not always correct.
For example, let's consider the Basque Country region in Spain. Even though they are "in" Spain, the Basques have their own habits, culture and way of communicating.
There are several other examples of this, such as indigenous groups in the Americas or the inhabitants of Greenland. As far as cultural habits are concerned, a language is primarily written or oral. Therefore, it is classified as a linguistic idea. A language also has a standardized form that can be spoken or written. This is the characteristic that differentiates a language from a dialect.
What is dialect?
It's easy to understand what a dialect is once we understand the concept of language. Remember when we said that groups of people identify themselves using a specific type of communication?
Well, when there are no established norms yet, these are dialects! It is easier to understand if we think of dialects as being a sub-item of "languages". As a general rule, we think of language as a standardized code, while a dialect does not necessarily have a standardized system. We can use British and American English or even the Portuguese form of Portugal and Brazil as examples of dialects. These examples are all about dialects that share the same language.
Dialect vs Language
Okay, so now we know what a language is and what a dialect is. However, in the real world, the lines between dialect and language can be a bit blurry. What usually differentiates dialects and languages is that dialects are usually just spoken, while languages have written rules. If we follow this logic, a person shouldn’t be able to understand languages other than their native language. How is it possible for someone who is not fluent in a certain language to still understand it? If you speak Spanish, you probably know that you can read Portuguese.
Similarly, a Dutch speaker can read German. The thing is, although each language and dialect has distinct characteristics that make them different, they still have some things in common. This is particularly true for languages that come from the same linguistic tree. This is the case for Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and French; or English, German, and Danish.