Just like a fingerprint, no two people’s way of talking is the same. Yes, we’re all grouped into our own native languages, but the way we talk goes above and beyond just our geographic location and native tongue.
There are so many social factors that influence the way we speak (called sociolinguistics), and one of those dialects is called a sociolect. On the other hand, we all have an internal language, and these dialogues are referred to as idiolects. And understanding these minute details is key to understanding the human nature of language.
The team at Day Translations decided to share some golden nuggets of wisdom to help you better understand the finer intricacies of language.
Although we’ll never be able to capture the essence of it all in one post, here’s what you need to know:
What is Idiolect?
An idiolect is the way you speak. It’s an individual language that includes a person’s vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and everything else that affects how the words come out of an individual’s mouth.
Idiolects are unlike other groupings in linguistics. Dialects are the study of how people within a specific group use language. Within every regional dialect, for example, there are variations in the language. But just because linguists say people in the southern parts of the USA say “y’all,” it doesn’t mean that every single person from the south speaks that way.
Idiolects, on the other hand, lend themselves to more definitive statements. When you study an idiolect, you can say that a specific person pronounces something in a specific way or that someone would never say something.
But idiolects are also constantly changing. Every time we learn a new word and start using it, it affects and alters our idiolect. Moving affects your idiolect. Even growing older can affect the way you talk to some degree, although that’s something that’s more applicable to sociolects, which we’ll get to in a moment.
In short: the people around you affect your idiolect just like your idiolect affects those around you.
What is Sociolect?
In the shortest term possible, sociolect is a social dialect. Since their conception, sociolects have been put in opposition to dialects, and that’s because there’s a difference between geographical and social dialects.
In his concise definition found in A Glossary of Sociolinguistics, linguist Peter Trudgill said that “a variety of lect which is thought of as being related to its speakers’ social background rather than geographical background.”
But sociolect isn’t determined by just your social group. It’s determined by your age, profession, gender, socioeconomic class, race, and more. There are endless factors that can affect your sociolect, so we don’t speak a single sociolect, and it’s something that shifts shape regularly.
The Takeaway
Sociolect is a variety of dialects associated with particular social groups that arise due to education, occupation, social class, religion, and a variety of other factors. Idiolect is the language of a single person, and it’s something they made up for their own use.
The most important thing to know about idiolects and sociolects is that they are probabilistic, not deterministic. We use sociolects and idiolects consciously and subconsciously, and we’re too quick to simply assume someone else’s dialect based on a geographic location. Language is a critical aspect of identity, but there is a fundamental difference between the way we speak and who we truly are.