dialect
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dialect
A regional or local variant of a language that differs from the standard language in pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
Obwohl er seit zwanzig Jahren in Hamburg lebt, hört man seinen bayerischen Dialekt immer noch deutlich.
Although he has lived in Hamburg for twenty years, you can still clearly hear his Bavarian dialect.
dialect
Colloquially and figuratively, a person's personal, characteristic way of expressing themselves.
Seine ironischen Bemerkungen sind einfach sein ganz persönlicher Dialekt, das meint er nicht böse.
His ironic comments are simply his very own personal dialect; he doesn't mean anything bad by them.
When you notice a person's dialect, you often use the construction 'jemandem den Dialekt anmerken' (to notice someone's dialect) or 'bei jemandem den Dialekt hören' (to hear someone's dialect).
Man merkt ihr den Dialekt kaum noch an.
You can hardly notice her dialect anymore.
In connection with regional language variants, 'Dialekt' (dialect) is often used with the verbs 'sprechen' (to speak) or 'haben' (to have). You can also say that someone speaks 'im Dialekt' (in dialect).
Mein Großvater spricht einen starken schwäbischen Dialekt.
My grandfather speaks a strong Swabian dialect.
To describe the strength of a regional coloring, adjectives like 'stark' (strong), 'leicht' (slight), 'deutlich' (clear), or 'kaum hörbar' (barely audible) are combined with 'Dialekt' (dialect).
Sie hat nur noch einen leichten Dialekt, den man kaum hört.
She only has a slight dialect now, which you can hardly hear.
You can often recognize the figurative meaning by additions like 'persönlich' (personal) or 'ganz eigen' (very own). Here it is not about a region, but about a person's individual way of expressing themselves.
Ihre direkte Art ist einfach ihr persönlicher Dialekt, sie meint es nicht böse.
Her direct manner is simply her personal dialect; she doesn't mean anything bad by it.
language
Sprache refers to a language system that people use to communicate. A Dialekt is a regional or local variety of a language and differs from the standard language. Use Sprache for the general system; when referring to a regional way of speaking, Dialekt is more precise.
In diesem Dorf sprechen viele Menschen einen besonderen Dialekt.
Many people in this village speak a distinctive dialect.
In diesem Land ist Deutsch die wichtigste Sprache.
German is the most important language in this country.
