Multidialectical

Linguistically, a dialect refers to "a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially" (www.dictionary.com, 2006).

In reference to language and culture, multidialectical refers to a characteristic of a speech community in which members of the community are exposed to multiple different dialects of the same language.

Examples

The United States is an example of a multidialectical speech community. While the most widely spoken language of the US is English, there are many different dialects of English spoken throughout the country. For example, the East coast dialect is characterized by long vowels. The Southern dialect is known for its "i"s becoming "ah"s as well as the sounds of "e" and "i" becoming the same sound (as in "pen" and "pin"). There are many other regional dialects found in the US; the Bostonian, the Texas drawl, and the midwestern "ya", to name a few.

See: American English regional differences

In "The Anthropology of Language", Harriet Ottenheimer (2006) discusses her experience in the Comoro Islands and uses that society as an example of a multidialectical speech community. People that lived in the Comoro Islands spoke "as many as eight different languages and dialects" (p.94).

Significance

Multidialectical communities expose how language and culture are intertwined. Even though someone from New York is speaking the same language as someone from Mississippi, the two may have trouble understanding each other. Each person has a different dialect that reflects aspects of their geographic culture. These two areas of the US are very culturally different from each other. Southerners are known for using verbs in instances where that verb wouldn't normally make sense (ie: "cut" the light, meaning turn the light off). Slang words can also be exclusive to certain dialects. Most dialects were formed before the industrial and technological revolutions, meaning that aspects of the dialect could have been formed out of necessity, the type of society (rural vs industrial, etc), or the sheer lack of contact with other regions of English speakers. These are things that exemplify how language (or even just a dialect of a language) reflects our culture. Multidialectical communities show us how language does not necessarily determine culture- all the US dialects speak the same language, yet have strikingly different cultures.

It is important to note that multidialectical speech communities are not exclusive to the United States, nor are the conculsions drawn about the significance of these societies in relation to language and culture.

References

• Dialect. (2006). Dictionary.com. Retrieved October 13, 2007, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/dialect.
• Ottenheimer, H. J. (2006). The anthropology of language: An introduction to linguistic anthropology. Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.