Comments on: Language, Variety, Dialect

By: Aaron Nwogu

Aaron Nwogu — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:01:40 +0000

An easier way to understand or decode meaning of words better is not by trying to interprete words in isolation but by applying them to context. In other words meaning is better determined in use in the sentence or in discourse rather than in isolation. So whether the word is stick, lie, or pitch, mutual intelligibility is better enhanced through the context of use of a word.

By: Aaron Nwogu

Aaron Nwogu — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 10:15:46 +0000

The sense or meaning of a word is determined by the users of a language. The same applies to the speakers of a dialect. Even though the issues that arise from the controversy of what is a dialect as against what is a language are more of political than linguistic; the case of Swedish, Danish and Norwagian being a perfect example, linguists still maintain that there are linguistic standards that determine this difference. During the Soviet era, full-fledged languages accepted to be subsumed under one language (Russian). Same with Chinese, in fact one will hardly know that there are several other languages in China. Mutual intelligibility is still a perfect determiner of what is a dialect of a language or a different language. Kalabari and Nembe, (both Languages of the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria), are mutually intelligible but because they are spoken in two different states in the region they are considered two different languages. While the Nembes agree that they understand Kalabari far more than their other Ijaw speaking neighbours, the Kalabaris deny any knowledge or understanding of Nembe. In Echie (a language of Rivers State of Nigeria), the following words exist depending on the dialect. They are: ugbu, udu, udula, udulaka, all mean ”now” yet all speakers understand each other without the slightest prejudice.

By: driving lessons bristol

driving lessons bristol — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:27:38 +0000

Besides the language, we can conduct an intensive driving test to distinguish between them. They are sure to swear in different languages when they pass each other.

By: Amy Stoller

Amy Stoller — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 21:09:23 +0000

I certainly didn’t mean to imply that references to snow “sticking” were exclusive to the New York metropolitan area, only that the others mentioned were unknown (at least to me) in my neck of the woods.

I’m not familiar with the old saw about “gunboats.” But it reminds me of Max Weinreich’s comment that “A shprakh iz a diyalekt mit an armey un a flot.” (”A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.”)

That reveals a commonly held point of view, but I think the idea that there is a “standard dialect” is debatable, unless one first grants that “standard” is a social construct, definable in more than one way. (My opinion is debatable too, of course!)

Personally I’m fond of the Weinreich quotation, which I find amusing on a number of levels. I even quote it on my website. But I don’t equate it with an immutable Great Truth.

(I leave it to you to decide whether Weinreich’s comment was made in a language or a dialect. In my opinion, it was both!)

By: John Cowan

John Cowan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:49:13 +0000

I do agree with most of your general points on languages and (or versus) dialects.

Oranges, which are what I intended to allude to, are also citrus fruits.

I haven’t done an exhaustive search, but it seems clear that “lie” and “settle” are not regionally restricted. Indeed, the OED quotes Robert Bridges as using both in a single line of a poem which as a whole is certainly in Standard English: “The snow came flying … Stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying.” “Stick” is certainly not particular to New York, as a quick googling will demonstrate. It may be mostly restricted to North America, but as I said, Standard English does include regional variations which. however, don’t refute its existence as a single non-regional dialect.

“Pitch”, on the other hand, is clearly recognized by people in Britain as a local usage (again per Google), provided they even recognize it at all. In the latest OED, the general verb “pitch” (as distinct from the homonymous verb that means to apply pitch) has 24 senses and a vast number of subsenses, none of which seems to have much to do with non-melting snow. Pitching a tent (sense 6a) is derived from the idea of pitching (driving into the ground, sense 2) the tent pegs, it seems: that in no way resembles what snow does when it falls. So I think we’re indeed dealing with a form that is non-standard, in fact the traditional dialect of Bristol (and perhaps other places).

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:18:16 +0000

I took “malo-citrine” as meaning “apples to oranges” but I guess lemons are okay too? I don’t exactly know the prevalence of stick vs lie vs settle vs pitch, but in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, at least), snow sticks.