A nonstandard dialect or vernacular dialect is a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that is ...

or language

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

that has not historically benefited from the institutional support or sanction that a standard dialect has. Like any dialect, a nonstandard dialect has an internally coherent system of

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes doma ...

. It may be associated with a particular set of

vocabulary A vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language. A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge. Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the ...

, and spoken using a variety of accents, styles, and registers. As American linguist

John McWhorter John Hamilton McWhorter V (; born October 6, 1965) is an American linguist with a specialty in creole languages, sociolects, and Black English. He is currently associate professor of linguistics at Columbia University, where he also teaches Amer ...

describes about a number of dialects spoken in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

in earlier U.S. history, including older

African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urb ...

, "the often nonstandard speech of Southern white planters, nonstandard British dialects of indentured servants, and West Indian patois, ..were ''non''standard but not ''sub''standard." In other words, the adjective "nonstandard" should not be taken to mean that the dialect is intrinsically incorrect, less logical, or otherwise inferior, only that it is not the socially perceived norm or mainstream for public speech (though it is often stigmatized as such as a result of socially-induced post-hoc rationalization). In fact, linguists consider all nonstandard dialects to be grammatically full-fledged varieties of a language. Conversely, even some

prestige dialect Prestige refers to a good reputation or high esteem; in earlier usage, ''prestige'' meant "showiness". (19th c.) Prestige may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Films * ''Prestige'' (film), a 1932 American film directed by Tay Garnet ...

s may be regarded as nonstandard. As a border case, a nonstandard dialect may even have its own written form, though it could then be assumed that the

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and ...

is unstable and/or unsanctioned, and that it is not consistently and/or officially supported by government or educational institutions. The most salient instance of nonstandard dialects in writing would likely be nonstandard phonemic spelling of reported speech in

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to ...

or poetry (e.g., the publications of Jamaican poet

Linton Kwesi Johnson Linton Kwesi Johnson (born 24 August 1952), also known as LKJ, is a Jamaica-born, British-based dub poet and activist. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black one, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series. His p ...

) where it is sometimes described as '' eye dialect.'' Nonstandard dialects have been used in classic literature throughout history. One famous example of this is Mark Twain, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn''. This classic piece of literature that is taught in school in the U.S. includes phrases from the characters that are not seen as standard English. In the case of the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

, while it has become common thought to consider that nonstandard dialects should not be taught, there has been evidence to prove that teaching nonstandard dialect in the classroom can encourage some children to learn English.

Notes

Bibliography

* * * * * Fasold, Ralph (2006) "The politics of language." In R.W. Fasold and J. Connor-Linton (eds) ''An Introduction to Language and Linguistics''. pp. 383-412. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. *Nordquist, R., 2019. What Is Nonstandard English?. nlineThoughtCo. Available at: ccessed 5 May 2022 * {{Ling-stub Language varieties and styles

See also

Notes

Bibliography