A dialect encompasses various traits of a group, including vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation (phonology). Is there a common term specifically for the phonological elements of a dialect? I’d like to ask another question about those, and I’m wondering whether there is a more succinct way to refer to them.
The specific context I’m thinking of is the way people typically have a different “dialect” when they sing, but generally only pronunciation-wise. I’d like a way to refer to that kind of “dialect” without using scare quotes and then explaining at length exactly what I’m talking about.
For a related example, people often change their vocabulary to suit the occasion, and we call that kind of “dialect” a register. I’m wondering whether there’s an analogous term for phonology.
Answer
I might just use the word accent. It sounds like you wish to say that people shift their accents when they sing. This is a very noticeable phenomenon, although it seems less prominent amongst “folksingers” than polished performers. So, I’m not certain if it is subconscious or consciously affected.
If you needed more scientific terminology you would just refer to the (sub)set of phonemes.
Compare that with diaphonemes which, as I understand them, are phonemes that are realized differently by dialects, but are considered the same by speakers. (A set of all the different ways that a particular speech sound is pronounced in all the dialects of a language, or a member of this set.)
With regard to the singing question, it would be a shift of phonemes or diaphonemes. But, accent is probably a more accessible term for this.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Bradd Szonye , Answer Author : David M
