Sociolect

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In linguistics, a sociolect is the language spoken by a social group, social class or subculture. It is a portmanteau term combining the words "social" and "dialect", which in this regard differs from an idiolect – which is the form of a language peculiar to an individual – and a dialect, which is a form of speech peculiar to a certain area. However, dialects often have a particular social status, so that a given variant may be considered simultaneously a dialect and a sociolect. For example, standard Italian is a dialect in that it is particular to Tuscany; yet, being the national language of Italy, it is also a sociolect in that it carries a certain prestige from being a lingua franca throughout the country – both in broadcasting, in the press and by people of high social status.