What does dialect mean?
Word: Dialect
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Dialect means a form of a language spoken in a particular area or by a particular group, with its own words, grammar and way of speaking.
Synonyms: variety, patois
How do you spell dialect?
Syllables: di - a - lect
Tricky part: The ending is ct: students drop the c (dialet) or write a k (dialekt).
Watch out for: dialet, dilect, dialekt
Memory tip: Dialect and dialogue both start with the Greek dia, across: a dialect is talk that carries across one region.
Dialect in a sentence
Example 1: People in coastal Karnataka speak a dialect of Kannada that sounds different from the one in Mysuru.
Example 2: Grandmother switches to her home dialect whenever she phones her sisters.
Example 3: My cousins tease me because I cannot understand their village dialect.
Fun Fact
Maithili was once often called a dialect of Hindi, but since 2003 it has been listed as a separate language in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. vocabulery 2. pronounciation 3. grammer 4. dialect
a) a local form of a language
b) all the words a person knows or uses
c) the way a word is said
d) the rules for how words are put together
Show answer
a) a local form of a language. Grammar ends in ar, vocabulary in ary, and pronunciation drops the o of pronounce, leaving dialect as the correct word.
Word Connection
Choose the word closest in meaning to dialect as used in the sentence:
In the village, the elders still tell stories in the local dialect, full of words the city children have never heard.
a) alphabet
b) spelling
c) vernacular
d) script
Show answer
c) vernacular. The vernacular is the everyday speech of a place; a script or an alphabet is a way of writing, and spelling is only how words are written down.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
diallect
a) e
b) l
c) a
d) c
Show answer
b) l. One l is enough; the a comes straight before it and the e straight after.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. People in different parts of the same state may speak different dialects because ____.
a) dialects are taught only in cities
b) they all read the same newspaper
c) everyone learns from the radio
d) each area develops its own words and accent
Show answer
d) each area develops its own words and accent
2. A writer uses dialect in a story mainly to ____.
a) make the story quicker to read aloud
b) teach readers a brand new alphabet
c) keep the ending of the story a secret
d) make characters sound like real local people
Show answer
d) make characters sound like real local people
