Definition:
A linguistic term for a word or expression that is characteristic of a particular geographic area. See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to rule"Examples and Observations:
- "In the [American] South it’s called Coke, even when it’s Pepsi. Many in Boston say tonic. A precious few even order a fizzy drink. But the debate between those soft drink synonyms is a linguistic undercard in the nation’s carbonated war of words. The real battle: pop vs. soda."
(J. Straziuso, "Pop vs. Soda Debate." Associated Press, Sep. 12, 2001) - "In Delaware, a turnpike refers to any highway, but in Florida a turnpike is a toll road."
(T. Boyle and K. D. Sullivan, The Gremlins of Grammar. McGraw-Hill, 2007) - "Sack and poke were both originally regional terms for bag. Sack has since become a Standard term like bag, but poke remains regional, mainly in South Midland Regional dialect."
(Kenneth Wilson, The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia Univ. Press, 1993) - "What some call a roll, others call a bun, or a cob, or a bap, or a bannock, while in other areas [of England] more than one of these words is used with different meanings for each."
(Peter Trudgill, The Dialects of England. Wiley, 1999) - "How do you make your tea? If you come from Yorkshire you probably ‘mash’ it, but people in Cornwall are more likely to ‘steep’ it or ‘soak’ it and southerners often ‘wet’ their tea."
(Leeds Reporter, March 1998) - "When we think of jargon, slang, and regionalisms, we tend to focus on the words unique to a communal lexicon. Meson, pion, and quark are terms only a physicist could love. But most common words forms belong to many communal lexicons--though with different conventional meanings. In Britain, biscuits can be sweet or savory, but in America, they are always savory."
(H. H. Clark, Using Language. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1996)
Pronunciation: REE-juh-na-LIZ-um
