Talk:Sociolect

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Term Sociolect could be better illustrated perhaps by more examples. It would be a help especially for those interested in linguistics but lack a formal study in the subject.

In general I find the use of such terms including the term dialect quite interesting if not controversial. Considering the german useage of the term, there are no real dialects of English in the USA. For example someone understanding High German and English might understand one or two words in a paragraph spoken in a Low German dialect. The differences are so vast that no spoken communication can take place between speakers confining themselves to their own language. No such differences are known to me in the USA. An American from New York or New England can easily be recognized as being from there by his accent. But to say he's speaking a dialect of English is stretching the meaning too far.

Someone visiting London's east end may be exposed to what is classified there as the dialect or sociolect known as Cokney. It takes a while for an english speaker hearing it for the first time to understand it at all. Understanding begins after first recognizing that spoken Cokney is entirely void of the letter h (as in French) and then mentally reinserting it.

To consider Welsh as a dialect of English is going too far in the other direction. Welch was derived from Celtic, a different branch of the Indo-European languages. There's no intelligent understanding between to speakers confining themselves to their respective language. R. Price pf2203@gmail.com Cakeandicecream 14:44, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree that one should differ between dialects and sociolects, but I don't agree with your arguments here. The borders between dialects are mainly geographical, whereas sociolects are mainly confined to particular social groups (hence the name), often within dialect areas. Following your example, Cockney stems from the working classes of London, mainly from the east side.

Also, concerning dialects, norwegian dialects are generally mutually intelligible, but are still considered dialects.

Loial 04:10, 5 February 2007 (UTC)