Dialect and Accent: Compare and contrast the terms dialect and accent.  Why are these two terms often confused?

Language is constantly changing in words and expressions, which means different things to different people.  The variations of languages are different because they have changed in response to the needs of the people using them.   It is not easy to separate a dialect from an accent but they must be separated.

People today speak the English language from regional origins, social groups, communities, and occupational groups that represent a large number of dialects.  Every person who has a voice speaks with a dialect.  A dialect of a language consists of grammar (syntax structure, grammatical rules – the way words are put together into sentences), vocabulary (the meaning of words), and pronunciation (the way words are pronounced).  When two people have dialect differences they can usually communicate without any problems because their English is more alike than different.

Example 1 of a dialect.  When a person says, “He done did it” while another says, “He did it” both are using different dialects. Example 2 of a dialect.  People who say, “I ain’t got none” while another person says, “I haven’t got any” are using different dialects.  Grammatical differences are involved as well as in other ways.

An accent of a language consists of pronunciation, the way a person speaks.  The regional or social background of the person speaking determines the accent of a person’s language.  The place where people live influence the sounds of their words.  The accent is determined phonetically by a person’s language, which is carried over to the use of another language.  The phonetics of an accent includes intonation (how slowly or quickly you spell the words), articulation (substituting sounds or omitting sounds), and tempo (the speed of speech).  Example of an accent.  Pronouncing “bathroom” with a short a or with a  long a.  The difference is in the pronunciation.

Sometimes accents are treated as part of a dialect and sometimes accents are treated separate from a dialect with the respect of the use of the standard variety of a language.  There are times when speakers of a language have different dialects and different accents.  It is also possible for speakers with the same dialect to have different accents.  Dialects are considered to be the standard English, which is used throughout the world, but it is spoken in many regional accents.

The English language is used by people to communicate with one another and develop and maintain social relationships.