Definitions for dialect continuum
di·alect con·tin·u·um

WiktionaryRate this definition:4.2 / 5 votes

1. dialect continuumnoun

   A range of dialects that vary slightly by region, so that the further apart two regions are, the more the language differs.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Dialect continuum

   A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varieties may not be. This is a typical occurrence with widely spread languages and language families around the world, when these languages did not spread recently. Some prominent examples include the Indo-Aryan languages across large parts of India, varieties of Arabic across north Africa and southwest Asia, the Turkic languages, the Chinese languages or dialects, and subgroups of the Romance, Germanic and Slavic families in Europe. Leonard Bloomfield used the name dialect area. Charles F. Hockett used the term L-complex.Dialect continua typically occur in long-settled agrarian populations, as innovations spread from their various points of origin as waves. In this situation, hierarchical classifications of varieties are impractical. Instead, dialectologists map variation of various language features across a dialect continuum, drawing lines called isoglosses between areas that differ with respect to some feature.A variety within a dialect continuum may be developed and codified as a standard language, and then serve as an authority for part of the continuum, e.g. within a particular political unit or geographical area. Since the early 20th century, the increasing dominance of nation-states and their standard languages has been steadily eliminating the nonstandard dialects that comprise dialect continua, making the boundaries ever more abrupt and well-defined.

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1. dialect continuum

   A dialect continuum refers to a range of dialects or variations of a language that gradually blend into one another along a geographic or social gradient, without clear boundaries or marked differences between them. It represents a spectrum of dialects that are mutually intelligible to some degree, with more similar versions of the language being spoken in adjacent areas and gradually diverging as the distance between the regions increases. This phenomenon is often observed in large language families and allows for gradual linguistic transitions rather than abrupt changes from one dialect to another.

WikidataRate this definition:4.4 / 11 votes

1. Dialect continuum

   A dialect continuum, or dialect area, was defined by Leonard Bloomfield as a range of dialects spoken across some geographical area that differ only slightly between neighboring areas, but as one travels in any direction, these differences accumulate such that speakers from opposite ends of the continuum are no longer mutually intelligible. The lines we can draw between areas that differ with respect to any feature of language are called isoglosses. According to the Ausbausprache – Abstandsprache – Dachsprache paradigm, these dialects can be considered Abstandsprachen. However, they can be seen as dialects of a single language, provided that a common standard language, through which communication is possible, exists. In sociolinguistics, a language continuum is said to exist when two or more different languages or dialects merge one into the other without a definable boundary. This happens, for example, across large parts of India. Historically, it also happened in various parts of Europe, for example in a line stretching from Portuguese to Walloon; from Portuguese to the southern Italian dialects; and between German and Dutch. Within the last 100 years or so, however, the increasing dominance of nation-states and their standard languages has been steadily eliminating the non-standard dialects of which these language continua were formed, making the boundaries ever more abrupt and well-defined.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. dialect continuum

   A range of dialects that vary slightly by region, so that the further apart two regions are, the more language differs.

   
   

   Submitted by unsiakhan96 on February 14, 2021  

How to pronounce dialect continuum?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say dialect continuum in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of dialect continuum in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of dialect continuum in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Dialect_Continuum
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialect_Continuum
3. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
4. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=dialect continuum