ABSTRACT
Dialectology is the study of dialects – both descriptive and theoretical – and those engaged in this study are known as dialectologists. Interpreting the term ‘dialect’ broadly to mean ‘variety of language’ (but see below), this means that it is concerned with analysing and describing related language varieties, particularly in respect of their salient differences and similarities. It is also concerned with developing theoretical frameworks for such analysis and description, and for arriving at generalizations and explanatory hypotheses about the nature of linguistic differentiation and variation.
