Diatype:
Diatype is a term first used by the linguist Michael Gregory to describe a type of language variation which is determined by its social purpose. In his formulation, language variation can be divided into two categories: dialect, for variation according to user (eg. African American Vernacular English), and diatype for variation according to use (eg. the specialised language of an academic journal).
| Diatype vs. dialect | |
| Diatype | Dialect |
| Defined by use | Defined by user |
| Intra-speaker variation | Inter-speaker variation |
| Discourse community | Speech community |
| Field, tenor, mode | Geographic, social, temporal |
The distinction between the terms is not always clear; in some cases a language variety may be understood as both a dialect and a diatype. The term register is often used in place of 'diatype'. The terms style and genre can also overlap in meaning.
Three variables of dialect are:
- Geographical: Where the speech community is based.
- Social: What social group/s the speech community belong to.
- Temporal: In what time (present or historical) the speech community exists.
Diatype is usually analysed in terms of:
- Field: The subject matter or setting.
- Tenor: The participants and their relationships.
- Mode: The channel of communication, such as spoken, written or signed.
The term diatypes has been defined as varieties of language within a community which are specified according to use. Depending on the nature of the community, a diatype could be a register or variety of the same language or a different language altogether. The only requirement is that the diatypes are different but constitute parts of the same verbal repertoire.
The use of any given diatype of such verbal repertoire is usually determined. The form of verbal code in use depends on the person/s to whom the individual is speaking, their roles and status relative to each other, the place in which the encounter occurs and the verbal function (reason) for the encounter.
- Gregory, M. (1967): Aspects of Varieties Differentiation, in: Journal of Linguistics 3, pp. 177-197.
- http://www.jstor.org
