di ‧ a ‧ lect /ˈdaɪəlekt/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: dialecte , from Greek dialektos 'conversation, dialect' , from dialegesthai 'to talk to someone' ]
a form of a language which is spoken only in one area, with words or grammar that are slightly different from other forms of the same language ⇨ accent
Chinese/Yorkshire etc dialect
The people up there speak a Tibetan dialect.
the local dialect
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THESAURUS
■ different kinds of language
▪ dialect a form of a language that is spoken in one area of a country, with different words, grammar, or pronunciation from other areas:
Cantonese is only one of many Chinese dialects.
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the local dialect
▪ accent the way that someone pronounces words, because of where they were born or live, or their social class:
Karen has a strong New Jersey accent.
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an upper class accent
▪ slang very informal spoken language, used especially by people who belong to a particular group, for example young people or criminals:
Teenage slang changes all the time.
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‘Dosh’ is slang for ‘money’.
▪ terminology formal the technical words or expressions that are used in a particular subject:
musical terminology
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Patients are often unfamiliar with medical terminology.
▪ jargon especially disapproving words and phrases used in a particular profession or subject and which are difficult for other people to understand:
The instructions were written in complicated technical jargon.
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‘Outsourcing’ is business jargon for sending work to people outside a company to do.
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The letter was full of legal jargon.