Dialect vs Accent: What Is the Difference?

Difference between Accent and Dialect

People often use the words 'dialect' and 'accent' as if they mean the same thing. They do not.

According to Cambridge Dictionary, an accent is the way people in a particular area, country, or social group pronounce words. It is mainly about how a person sounds when they speak.

A dialect, on the other hand, represents a variety of a language with its own pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. A dialect is bigger. It includes sound, but it can also include different words and different sentence patterns.

According to Cambridge Dictionary, a dialect is a form of a language spoken in a particular part of a country or by a particular group of people.

Imagine four people are speaking English.

• One is from Pakistan.
• One is from the United States.
• One is from England.
• One is from China.

They all say this sentence: "I am going to the market." 

Would all of them going to sound the same? Probably not. The words are the same. The grammar is the same. The meaning is the same. But they may not sound the same. One speaker may pronounce the /r/ more strongly than the other. Another may use a different rhythm. This difference in the way a person reads/pronounces words is called their accent.

Now imagine that the speakers do not only pronounce words differently. They also use different words to express a similar idea.

For example:

A British English speaker may say, "I live in a flat."

An American English speaker may say, "I live in an apartment."

Here, the difference is not only sound. The word itself is different: 'flat' vs 'apartment'. That is a dialect difference.

Examples for Understanding Accent

Accent marks the difference in pronunciation of the same words.

Consider the words 'water, 'tomato', and 'doctor'.

In the British RP accent, these words are pronounced as such:

• Water – Sounds like "Wo-tuh"

• Tomato – Sounds like "T-maa-to"

• Doctor – Sounds like "Dock-tuh"

In the standard American accent, these words are pronounced as such:

• Water – Sounds like "Waa-teR" with a strong "R"

• Tomato – Sounds like "T-May-to"

• Doctor – Sounds like "Dak-teR"

These are the same words but pronounced differently, indicating different accents.

Examples for Understanding Dialect

Dialect captures a bigger picture. It marks the difference in pronunciation, word choice and, oftentimes, different sentence patterns. So an accent is just a part of the dialect.

Example 1: Vocabulary Difference

A large vehicle, used to transport goods

The vehicle you see in the image above is called a "lorry" in the British dialect. In American English, it's called a "truck". Both words refer to the same kind of vehicle. But the word choice is different. This is a dialectal difference. Other examples include 'biscuit' (British) vs 'cookie' (American) and 'trash' (American) vs 'rubbish' (British).

Example 2: Sentence Pattern Difference

Dialectal differences are not just limited to pronunciation or different word choice (vocabulary), they also expand to the sentence level. Consider the examples below.

In standard English, if someone lacks money, they might say, "I do not have any money."

In some regional dialects the speakers may deliver the same thought differently by saying, "I ain't got no money on me." They use "ain't" for almost all auxiliary + negation combinations.

• 'I am not going there' becomes 'I ain't going there.'
• 'I haven't eaten' becomes 'I ain't eaten yet.'
• 'I will not jump' becomes 'I ain't gonna jump.'
• 'He is not smart' becomes 'He ain't smart.'

Conclusion

So in conclusion, an accent is the way someone pronounces words, i.e., their speech style.

A dialect is a variety of a language used by a particular community, marked with differences in pronunciation, vocabulary and sentence structures. 

Some dialects become more powerful because they are used in schools, books, exams, news, and government. These are usually called standard dialects.

But “standard” does not mean “naturally better". It means it is socially more acceptable and preferable for formal use.

References

Cambridge Dictionary. “Accent.” Cambridge University Press.

Cambridge Dictionary. “Dialect.” Cambridge University Press.

Cambridge Dictionary Grammar. “Dialect.” Cambridge University Press.

Trudgill, P. (2000). Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society. Penguin Books.

Wardhaugh, R., & Fuller, J. M. (2015). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. Wiley Blackwell.

Why Pakistanis Struggle with English Pronunciation: 2 Main Reasons.

Most Pakistanis believe these letters to be representative of the same sounds when they are not.

Most Pakistanis start learning English at a very young age. Many of us begin learning it from our siblings or parents even before we step into school. After school this learning process continues through college and university.

So, technically, we spend more than ten or fifteen years learning English.

But after all these years, many of us still do not sound anything like native English speakers when we speak. Our English often sounds different, unnatural, or sometimes even awkwardly funny.

Now the question is: why?

Is fifteen years not enough to learn a language?

Of course, it is enough.

The real problem is not the amount of time we spend learning English. The real problem is the way we are taught English.

In Pakistan, we are usually taught English as a written subject. We learn spellings, grammar rules, translations, essays, and textbook answers. In other words, our entire focus is on the written form of English. But when it comes to English speech, we are rarely taught how it actually works.

And that is where the problem begins. But before we start talking about the problems we need to know what speech is.

What is speech?

Speech is basically a structured combination of sounds.

When I speak, I produce sounds from my mouth. These sounds travel through the air (or electrical signals) and reach your ears. Then your brain decodes those sounds and gives them meaning.

This is how spoken language works.

So, if we want to speak English naturally, we first need to understand the sound system of English. But unfortunately this, more often than not, is sidelined in our academia, leading to two problems which make our speech sound so foreign to the speech of native English speakers.

The Problems

Problem 1: Using Our Native-Language's Sounds to Speak English

Many people in Pakistan assume that the sounds of English are already present in Urdu or in our local languages. This is not 100% true. Some sounds in English and Urdu are similar. But not all of them.

However, most of the Pakistanis think that Urdu has all the sounds of English, and we don't need to learn any new sounds separately. And that's the problem.

For example, it is commonly believed that,

• The sound represented by letter "T" = The sound represented by letter "ٹ"
• The sound represented by letter "D" = The sound represented by letter "ڈ"
• The sound represented by letter "R" = The sound represented by letter "ر"

but the sounds represented by these letters are produced completely differently; in other words, they are not the same.

So, when we try to speak English without learning these sounds properly, we are basically speaking English through the sound system of our own first language. In other words, the words may be English, but we are speaking them in Urdu, Punjabi, Saraiki, or another local language's style.

Now, when we do that, i.e., when we speak English with sounds of our local languages, we may not even realise that we are using Urdu's sounds for English because our mind cannot perceive the difference between the two yet. But a native English speaker's mind will almost instantaneously notice the difference.

Problem 2: We Rely Too Much on Spellings

The second major reason Pakistanis struggle with English pronunciation is that we focus too much on spellings.

Our academic system is mostly based on the written form of English. We read English. We write English. We memorise English. We translate English.

Many students think that if they know the spelling of a word, they automatically know how to pronounce it. But in English, this is not always true.

English orthography is deceptive (misleading/unreliable). Orthography means the writing system of a language, including spellings. There are many words in English that do not sound the way they are spelt. If you rely only on spellings, your pronunciation can become very unnatural – which ours does, because we do.

English spelling is not always a clear guide to pronunciation. Sometimes a single letter represents more than one sound, sometimes it is completely silent and sometimes multiple letters work together and represent one sound.

For example, look at these words:

• though 
• through
• tough
• cough
• bough

All of these words contain the letters “ough,” but they are not pronounced in the same way. Similarly "K" in "Knife" is silent. "X" in "maximum" is representing two sounds /k/ & /s/.

This shows that English spelling can be confusing.

Of course, spellings can help you sometimes. They are not completely useless. But if you rely entirely on spellings, your spoken English will suffer.

The Problem with Copying Native Accents

Sometimes – to fix these problems – Pakistani learners try to copy native English speakers. This is not completely wrong. Listening to native speakers is super useful. Imitation can also help a lot. But the problem begins when learners try to copy an accent without learning English sounds first.

When someone tries to sound British or American without understanding pronunciation, the result often sounds artificial and funny.

The speech sounds unnatural because the person is not actually using the sounds of English. They are just acting out an accent.

A good accent should come naturally after sound training. It should not feel like acting.

The Solution

If we want to improve the way our English sounds, the very first thing we need to know is the answer to these two questions:

• What sounds are used by native English speakers when they speak?
• How do native speakers produce/articulate those sounds?

Knowing the answer to these questions will help our minds perceive the difference between the sounds of English in comparison to the sounds in our native local languages. This will also help us understand and realise which sounds are similar or produced the same way in both languages and which sounds are not. 

Once we know that, we can diagnose our own pronunciation mistakes by assessing our recordings. And then fix the sounds which we mispronounce. This is a slow process, but it works 100%.

I offer free accent diagnosis for Pakistanis. If you e-mail me your recording (at least 2 minutes long) at saraikiustad.ed@gmail.com I'll help you diagnose the sounds that you need to drive your immediate focus towards.

Interdisciplinary Branches of Linguistics

Illustration of Main Interdisciplinary Branches of Linguistics

The word 'interdisciplinary' simply means that one subject is not studied alone. Instead, it is studied with the help of another subject. 

When we study two or more different disciplines in relation to each other, that study becomes an interdisciplinary study. For example, in linguistics we study language, and in psychology we study human behaviour and the mind. Now if we study language in relation to human behaviour and how the mind processes it, it will be an interdisciplinary study called 'psycholinguistics'.

Interdisciplinary branches of linguistics help us understand that language is not just a grammar system. It is also connected with human thinking, society, technology, culture, education, and real-life problems.

Main Interdisciplinary Branches of Linguistics

Some important interdisciplinary branches of linguistics include:

• Psycholinguistics

• Sociolinguistics

• Computational Linguistics

• Neurolinguistics

• Anthropological Linguistics

• Forensic Linguistics

• Clinical Linguistics

• Educational Linguistics

• Corpus Linguistics

Let us understand them one by one.

Psycholinguistics

Psycholinguistics means studying the relationship between language and the human mind. In this branch, we mainly study how language is understood, produced, learned, and stored in the mind.

A psycholinguist may ask questions like:

• How does a child learn his first language?
• Why do we sometimes forget a word even though we know it?
• How does the mind understand a sentence so quickly?
• What happens in the mind when we speak two languages?
• In simple words, psycholinguistics studies the mental side of language.

Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics means studying the relationship between language and society. In this branch, we study how people use language differently in different social situations.

A sociolinguist may study:

• how men and women may use language differently,
• how people from different regions speak differently,
• how social class affects language,
• why people switch between two languages,
• how accent affects people’s identity,
• and how language can show power, politeness, respect, or distance.

For example, a student may speak one way with friends and another way with a teacher. The grammar may be the same, but the style changes because the social situation changes.

So, sociolinguistics studies how society affects language use.

Sociolinguistics vs Sociology of Language

Many students confuse sociolinguistics with sociology of language. They are closely related, but their main focus is slightly different. Sociolinguistics mainly focuses on language. It asks:

• How does society affect the way people use language?

The sociology of language mainly focuses on society. It asks:

• How does language affect society?

For example:

A sociolinguist may study how Punjabi speakers pronounce English words differently because of their local language background.

A sociologist of language may study how English creates social status, power, or inequality in Pakistan. So, the difference is mainly about focus.

If the main focus is language, it is sociolinguistics.

If the main focus is society, it is sociology of language.

Computational Linguistics

Computational linguistics means studying language with the help of computers. In this branch, linguists and computer scientists work together to help computers understand, process, and produce human language. This branch is very important in the modern world because many technologies are based on language processing.

For example:

• Google Translate
• speech-to-text tools
• grammar checkers
• chatbots
• search engines
• voice assistants
• automatic subtitles
• text prediction in mobile keyboards

All of these tools need some understanding of human language. A computational linguist may ask:

• How can a computer understand human language?
• How can a machine translate one language into another?
• How can we teach a computer to recognise speech?
• How can AI generate human-like text?

In simple words, computational linguistics connects language with technology.

Neurolinguistics

Neurolinguistics means studying the relationship between language and the brain. It is close to psycholinguistics, but the focus is more on the brain itself.

In neurolinguistics, we study which parts of the brain are involved in speaking, listening, reading, and understanding language.

A neurolinguist may study:

• what happens when a person loses speech after a brain injury,
• which brain areas become active during language use,
• how the brain processes two languages,
• and how language disorders happen because of brain damage.

For example, if a person can understand language but cannot speak properly after a stroke, neurolinguistics helps us understand why this happens.

So, psycholinguistics focuses more on the mind, while neurolinguistics focuses more on the physical brain.

Anthropological Linguistics

Anthropological linguistics means studying language as part of human culture. Anthropology (the study of human societies and cultures) looks at how people live, think, believe, and behave in different communities. So, anthropological linguistics studies how language is connected with culture.

An anthropological linguist may ask:

• How does language reflect cultural values?
• How do people use language in rituals, traditions, and ceremonies?
• How are stories, myths, and histories passed through language?
• How does a community’s language show its worldview?

For example, some languages may have many special words for relationships, respect, farming, animals, or religion because these things are important in that culture.

So, anthropological linguistics helps us understand language as a part of human life and culture.

Forensic Linguistics

Forensic linguistics means studying language in legal and criminal contexts. Forensic (related to law, courts, or crime investigation) linguistics is used when language becomes important in legal matters.

A forensic linguist may study:

• threatening messages,
• suicide notes,
• police statements,
• legal documents,
• courtroom language,
• authorship of anonymous texts,
• and misunderstandings in legal communication.

For example, if someone sends a threatening message from an unknown account, a forensic linguist may study the writing style to see who might have written it.

Clinical Linguistics

Clinical linguistics means studying language disorders and communication problems. Clinical (related to medical treatment or diagnosis) linguistics is connected with speech therapy, language delay, pronunciation problems, and other communication difficulties.

A clinical linguist may study:

• speech disorders,
• language delay in children,
• pronunciation difficulties,
• stammering,
• aphasia,
• and problems in reading or understanding language.

For example, if a child is not developing language normally, clinical linguistics can help identify the problem and suggest treatment or support.

Educational Linguistics

Educational linguistics means studying language in relation to education. This branch is especially important for teachers, language learners, curriculum designers, and textbook writers.

An educational linguist may ask:

• How should a second language be taught?
• Why do students make certain grammar mistakes?
• How does the mother tongue affect English learning?
• What kind of language should be used in textbooks?
• How can pronunciation be taught more effectively?

For example, Pakistani English learners may pronounce some English sounds differently because those sounds do not exist in Urdu, Punjabi, Saraiki, or Pashto. Educational linguistics can help teachers understand this issue and teach pronunciation in a better way.

Corpus Linguistics

Corpus linguistics means studying language by using large collections of real language data. A corpus (a large collection of written or spoken language which a computer can read) may include books, conversations, newspapers, websites, student essays, subtitles, or social media posts.

Corpus linguists use computers to study patterns in real language.

They may ask:

• Which words are most common in English?
• Which grammar structures are frequently used?
• How do native speakers actually use a word?
• What mistakes do learners commonly make?

For example, if we want to know whether people more commonly say “make a decision” or “do a decision", corpus linguistics can help us check that through real language data.

So, corpus linguistics helps us study language based on evidence, not just personal opinion.

Summary

• Psycholinguistics studies how language is processed by our minds (i.e., how we understand language meaning and react).
• Sociolinguistics studies how language is affected by society or social circumstances.
• Computational linguistics studies how a computer can be taught human language and used to serve linguistic purposes.
• Neurolinguistics studies which part of the physical brain controls language.
• Anthropological linguistics studies how language and culture are connected.
• Forensic linguistics studies how the language can become evidence in legal matters.
• Clinical linguistics studies language disorders and strives to find their potential cures.
• Educational linguistics studies how language can be taught and learned effectively.
• Corpus linguistics studies large collections of language data in the form of text or speech using computers to find unique patterns.

So, each branch studies language, but from a different perspective.

In short, interdisciplinary branches of linguistics show us that language is connected with the mind, society, brain, culture, law, education, computers, and real-life communication.

What is linguistics?

 

'Linguistics' (lin-gwiss-tics) means studying language(s) but in a systematic, science-like way.

In this field of knowledge, we mainly study

• how a language works, 

• how the people who speak this language use it to express their thoughts and feelings, 

• how over time this language changes (Change could be progressive or degressive)

• and how this language differs from other languages around the world,

• and how a speaker of one language can learn other languages effectively.

So in short terms, every study where the main focus is any language is linguistics. It's a major field which is divided into multiple sub-fields. 

Main Branches of Linguistics

A language (which, in simplest terms can be defined as a medium/system of communication between 2 or more entities) can be studied from multiple perspectives (points of view) because of its numerous applications and the number of ways it can exist. That's why linguistics (the systematic study of languages) is divided into different branches or sub-level categories, which include,

Illustration of the Branches of Linguistics (Tap to get a clearer view)

• Phonetics & Phonology (here we study speech sounds and their properties)

• Morphology (here we study word structure – how words are made or structured)

• Syntax (here we study sentence structure – how sentences are made or structured)

• Semantics (here we study the meanings of words)

• Pragmatics (here we study how language is used differently in different situations, i.e., context)

• Semiotics (here we study symbols and graphical elements which communicate some meaning)