Language Variations

Language Variations

    Languages have special and essential functions. There were created by humans to fulfill relevant needs including the transmission of ideas, feelings, and beliefs. Languages promote self-expression and social interaction, that is why every group of individuals in this world use a language to interact with other. 

    Knowing the role of language in people´s lives, it is a great to explore an interesting aspect of languages: speakers of a particular language (eg., English) don´t speak exactly the same language. 

    A single language usually presents variations. Therefore, the fact that a person knows a language doesn´t guarantee that one is going to be able to communicate successfully with all the speakers of the same language.  I explored the types of variations that a language can have, and I want to share with you this knowledge. 

Among the variations that languages present are dialects, accents, slang, and idioms.

•  Dialects refer to the varieties of a single language that signals where a person comes from. Dialects have to be mostly where geographic areas where languages are spoken because they are usually formed in and around particular regions. The difference among dialects happen in terms of grammar and vocabulary.

• An accent refers to an identifiable style of pronunciation. Basically, it is the particular way in which a group of speakers pronounce a language. Unlike dialects, accents are not just regional, but can express information about education, ethnic, and economic backgrounds of speakers. 

• Slang is a term used to refer to the use of words and phrases that are considered informal. Slang is more present in speech than in writing, with the exception of written messages to relatives or friends in which people usually use informal language which will not be appropriate in a formal context.

• Idioms are common expressions (sentences or phrases) which meaning can´t be derived based on the meaning of each of the words that make them. Instead those expressions convey a meaning that is added to it by speakers and they don´t change in form.

All these variants show the complexity of languages since there is not a correct standard language but instead, there are different forms of the world´ languages known.

Moore. D. T. (2018). What’s the difference between a language, a dialect and an accent? Babbel Magazine. https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/accents-and-dialects/