supradialect

Supradialect (from Latin , "above", and Ancient Greek , "discourse") is a linguistic term designating a dialectological category between the levels of language and dialect. It is used in two distinctive contexts, describing structural or functional relations within a particular language. As a structural category, supradialects designate the first level of dialectological subdivision within a language, as for example in the pluricentric Serbo-Croatian language, which is divided into three basic supradialects (Shtokavian, Kajkavian, and Chakavian), with each of them being further divided into several dialects. As a functional category, supradialect designates a predominant dialectal form within a particular language, referring to the most commonly used variant of that language, accepted in practice by the majority of its speakers as a basic tool of mutual interaction and communication. In that context, such supradialect also functions as an interdialect.

== See also == Linguistics Sociolinguistics Dialectology Dialect Subdialect Dialect continuum Dialect levelling Variety (linguistics) Variation (linguistics) Common language Standard language Koiné language Interlanguage