Dialekt

See also: dialekt

German

Etymology

From Latin dialectos/dialectus (f), from Ancient Greek διάλεκτος (diálektos) (f).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /diaˈlɛkt/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Dialekt m (genitive Dialekts or Dialektes, plural Dialekte)

  1. dialect, regiolect

Usage notes

  • The linguistic term Dialekt in the context of the German language refers to the traditional regional dialects, which have developed natively from the early Middle Ages into modern times (going back to Old High German, Old Low Franconian, and Old Saxon). The Dialekte are now gradually coming out of use in most areas and have effectively died out in some (certain parts of northern Germany and, for obvious reasons, the former Ostgebiete).
  • Varieties of standard German or modern colloquial German are not commonly called Dialekte. Moreover, the word is not commonly used for non-regional varieties of language such as Soziolekte (“sociolects”). This is often in contrast to the terminology of Anglophone, particularly American, linguistics.

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • Dialektgruppe
  • Großdialekt

Further reading

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