A dialect is different from an individual speech pattern because a dialect is a variety of speech that belongs to a particular group of people while an individual speech pattern is the way a person uses language in a uniquely personal way, this is actually called idiolect.
I'll explain a little bit more of the characteristics of each one, so their differences can become clearer:
I'll explain a little bit more of the characteristics of each one, so their differences can become clearer:
- Dialect: A dialect is a variety of language that is appropriated by a particular region or social group, some differences that it can have from other dialects are pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary. Within a language there can be many dialects, as you may have noticed whenever you travel to another part of the country (or state) or maybe even on tv or the internet; English is the language but dialects are many.
- Idiolect (individual speech pattern): The way we speak is another aspect of our personalities in which we are completely unique and different. If you think about it, no person speaks exactly the same as another, we always have preferences for certain words over others, for certain registers (sophisticated vs simple) or even for certain rhythms while speaking! Idiolect is so special that not only varies from person to person, but also one individual can present different idiolects at different moments of his or her life.
As we can conclude, both dialect and idiolect focus on particularities in language, but the main difference between each is that dialect is shared by a social group or region while idiolect or individual speech pattern is exclusive to an individual.
