Indigenous Dialectology

Abstract

Dialect studies in broad perspective have to do with any linguistic study that involves structural or comparative consideration of dialect. Dialectology, or dialect studies more narrowly conceived, involves those linguistic studies that indicate dialect distinction or definition. The goal of such research is to establish a sound base from which to project further structural and historical linguistic studies. Effective dialectology is dependent on two main factors: the provision of extensive diagnostic linguistic materials,¹ and the confirmation of results from various related and supporting disciplines such as geography, anthropology, psychology and sociology.² Linguistics has an adequate technique for providing the materials for such study in the dialect survey.³ Since, however, dialect surveys can be carried out ineffectively as well as effectively, the following paper will attempt to present an ideal approach to dialect survey, and with this as background, discuss a number of attempts to do dialect studies in Ibero-America in light of their successes and shortcomings. It is quite obvious, from a study of the literature, that very little dialectology has been done in this area of the world. That which has been done is of a preliminary nature and itself needs amplification and extension before its validity can be fully established and evaluated.