Dialect

A dialect is a form of a language spoken by a group of people. People who live in the same place may share a dialect; this is called a "regiolect". People who are similar in some other way, such as social class, may share a dialect.

There is no absolute difference between a dialect and a language. British English and American English are different standard dialects of English. They differ slightly in spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary. However, they are "mutually intelligible", which means people who speak either variety understand the other.

Deciding if something is a language or a dialect is sometimes a political decision as a way to make minority groups assimilate or become part of a nation's larger culture. The linguist Max Weinreich once joked that "a language is a dialect with an army and a navy."