dialect

noun

the island dialect was influenced by the Spanish in the sixteenth century

Syn:

regional language, local language, local speech, vernacular, patois, idiom; regionalisms, localisms; informal lingo

••

dialect, argot, cant, jargon, lingo, slang, vernacular

When a New York City cab driver calls out the window, "Hey, wassa madda wichoo?" he is using the vernacular, which is the authentic, natural pattern of speech among those belonging to a certain community. In some areas of London, on the other hand, one might hear the Cockney dialect, which is a form or variety of a language that is confined to a specific group or locality; it has its own pronunciation, usage, and vocabulary, and may persist for generations or even centuries (he spoke in the dialect of the Appalachian backwoodsman). A teenager who tells his parents to "Chill out" is using slang, which is a very informal language that includes "substitute" vocabulary ("wheels" for car, "rug" for toupee), grammatical distortions, and other departures from formal or polite usage. Argot refers to the slang of a group that feels threatened by the hostility of society as a whole; it traditionally refers to the slang used by criminals and thieves, although it may refer to any peculiar language that a clique or other closely knit group uses to communicate with each other. At one time cant was a synonym for argot, but now it usually refers to pompous, inflated language or the hackneyed use of words and phrases by members of a particular class or profession (the cant of the fashion industry). In contrast to cant, which can at least be understood, jargon is nearly impossible for the average person to decipher. This term refers to the technical or highly specialized language used by members of an occupational or professional group (medical jargon, the jargon of the theater). If you are frustrated because you can't understand the language used by a particular class or group, you're apt to refer to their way of talking as lingo, which is a term for any language that is not readily understood (she tried to reason with the cab driver, but she couldn't understand his lingo).