grapholect

A written variant of a language, analogous to a spoken dialect of a language.

Noun

  1. A written variant of a language, analogous to a spoken dialect of a language.
    • The grapholect of Standard English is not the exclusive system that arbiters of cultural purity wish to 'correct' us into believing - 1993, Gajendra K. Verma, Inequality and teacher education: an international...
    • A grapholect is a transdialectical language formed by deep commitment to writing. An example of grapholect is the (written) Chinese language. Almost any Standard language, such as Standard Dutch or Standard English is a...

Origin

Blend of grapheme + dialect, coined by linguist Einar Haugen in 1964.

Forms

grapholects

Derived

grapholectal