"Dialect" or "Language"
There are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing languages from dialects, although a number of paradigms exist, which render sometimes contradictory results. The exact distinction is therefore a subjective one, dependent on the user's frame of reference.
Language varieties are often called dialects rather than languages
* solely because they are not (or not recognized as) literary languages,
* because the speakers of the given language do not have a state of their own,
* or because their language lacks prestige.
Anthropological linguists define dialect as the specific form of a language used by a speech community. In other words, the difference between language and dialect is the difference between the abstract or general and the concrete and particular. From this perspective, no one speaks a "language," everyone speaks a dialect of a language. Those who identify a particular dialect as the "standard" or "proper" version of a language are in fact using these terms to express a social distinction. Often, the standard language is close to the sociolect of the elite class.
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As we debate the cold blooded money hungry intents of Mr. Reid and how he calls Obama a lighskin black not speaking a Negro dialect some of you are gone crazy. You seem to believe or insist there's no Negro dialect and there's no White Dialect. Are you fools or is it that you were taught that way? Every language has a variety of ways in which is spoken and written. Reading the dictionary is not the key to understanding language is just one of them and there are others such as opening your mind to different ways you experience people speaking and writing. Languages have varieties and these are called dialects and most African Americans or Negros speak Black at home, in their communities and with each other. But some of you introverted nerds whom lack social interaction and have only the dictionary as your guide seem to doubt this natural phenomenon. Whites speak differently as do Asians when at home and Hispanics even had a dialect called Spanlish. Blacks call our dialect Eboonics, Black talk or other names. Whites don't have a name for theirs because they are the ruling class and as such their way of talk or dialect is the preferred way and since Webster is a Whiteman and most authors of American Dictionaries Whites get the say on what is American English and what isn't. But the English Whites laugh and say Americans don't speak English and even amongst them there are dialects which go so far as distinguishing social classes.
So stop this non-sense or you can continue but I don't see being narrow minded as a way to understand social interactions. Some of you are nerds I know so I can just suspect that some of this non-sense stems from the fact you don't interact much with your own people or anyone for that matter off a computer.
Posted By: John Washington
Monday, January 11th 2010 at 9:59PM
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