Differences between language and dialect

The difference between the concepts of language and dialect It is a question that has always raised many doubts among philologists and linguists. This is due, among other reasons, to the difficulty of establishing the limits between the two terms: when does a dialect become a language? How many dialects can a language have? or at what point does a dialect become a language? are some of the questions that arise.

On the other hand, it is very common for these concepts to intermingle strictly linguistic issues with some economic and political aspects. In this lesson from a teacher we will explain to you what are the differences between language and dialect taking into account linguistic factors and using the Spanish language and some of the oldest dialects of the Iberian Peninsula as an example.

Following what was stated by the philologist and dialectologist Manuel Alvar, a dialect It is that "system of signs detached from a common language, living or missing; normally, with a specific geographical limitation, but without a strong differentiation from others of common origin ". Thus, dialects are also considered all those linguistic variants that

do not have the necessary characteristics to become languages.

Not all dialects develop and evolve in the same way. Some, like Spanish, for example, over the centuries become languages, while others, like Aragonese or Leonese, remain as such. In its origin, Castilian, like Aragonese or Leonese, arises from a progressive fragmentation of Latin.

The difference lies in the fact that Spanish, from the hand of King Alfonso X the Wise, became the official language of the Chancellery; that is to say, the language in which all the royal documents were drawn up, to the detriment of Latin. From this moment on, Spanish became the language of culture and scientific and administrative knowledge of the thirteenth century. We can say that at this time an unprecedented linguistic interest develops, which has as a consequence the graphic normalization of Spanish, which acquires a prestige that relegates the rest of the dialects.

Therefore, nowadays, we understand by dialect that linguistic variant that presents a series of phonetic, morphological or syntactic peculiarities, that usually takes place in a geographically delimited area and that does not pose difficulties in understanding compared to other close linguistic varieties. For example, Andalusian, Murcian or Canary are dialects of Castilian.

In this video of a PROFESSOR we are going to show you the origin and history of the Castilian language.

According to Manuel Alvar, a language is that "linguistic system of which a speaking community is worth and which is characterized by being strongly differentiated, by having a high degree of leveling, by being a vehicle for a important literary tradition and, on occasions, for having imposed on linguistic systems of the same origin ".

Starting from this definition, Spanish is a language because, first of all, it has a large number of Spanish-speakers who communicate through it. Second, Spanish differs clearly and notably from other languages ​​such as Portuguese or French. It also has a linguistic normalization based on the precepts of organisms created to ensure the linguistic development of this variety.

For example, the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) or the Association of Academies of the Spanish Language (ASALE) have the main function of caring for and protecting the use of the Spanish language, creating grammars and orthographies that indicate the basic rules that must be followed by both the language and its varieties.

Finally, it is important to point out that, in the same way, Spanish is considered a language because it has an exceptional literary production, with works such as the Quixote, one of the top works of universal literature of all time.

In this video you will know how words are formed in spanish and the linguistic processes that exist for the extension of the language.

In summary we can say that a language can be made up of several dialects. The main difference between the concepts of language and dialect is that, while languages ​​possess features and characteristics that differentiate them from each other, the dialects do not present differences that prevent the communication; For example, a speaker who lives in Extremadura and speaks the Extremadura dialect can communicate without great inconveniences with a speaker from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria who uses the Canarian dialect.

What's more, languages ​​have an organized and structured grammar in all its levels (spelling, syntax, morphology) while dialects do not present that degree of linguistic standardization.

And finally, languages ​​are spoken by a large number of people compared to dialects, which are usually used in a limited geographical space by a limited number of speakers.