Dialectology

Dialectology is from the Greek words “dialektos” which means “talk” and “logia” which translates to “study”. It is the science of dialect variations specifically regarding grammatical, phonological, and lexical elements; such differences are often caused by geographic factors or social isolation. This subfield of sociolinguistics started in the 19th century with the appearance of local dialect dictionaries in western Europe. Dialectology’s findings are related to other fields such as history, sociology, and psychology.