Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A set of similar dialects constituting any of the larger distinct regional varieties of a language. For example, Mandarin Chinese is a topolect that includes the dialects of Beijing and Nanjing, and is distinct from Hakka, another topolect of Chinese.
Wiktionary
Etymologies
- topo- + (dia)lect (translation of Chinese (Mandarin) fāngyán, regional speech : fāng, place + yán, language). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Some Beijing partisans claim that càiniǎo 菜鳥 comes from Pekingese, because cài 菜 (lit., "vegetable") can mean "bad, weak" in Beijing topolect.”
“English as "dialect," the Chinese word means simply "topolect," i.e., the speech pattern of a place, be it large or small)!”
Lists
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Tweets
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vanishedone 'What Is a Chinese "Dialect/Topolect"? Reflections on Some Key Sino-English Linguistic Terms': 'Unfortunate arguments have erupted, for example, over whether Taiwanese is a Chinese language or a Chinese dialect... As an initial step in the right direction, the author proposes the adoption of "topolect" as an exact, neutral translation of fangyan.' Apr 20, 2008