1. Phonology:
* Pronunciation: This includes differences in the way sounds are pronounced, such as the "r" sound in "car" (rhotic vs. non-rhotic) or the vowel sounds in words like "cot" and "caught" (cot-caught merger).
* Stress patterns: This refers to the emphasis placed on syllables within a word.
* Intonation: This involves the rise and fall of pitch in speech, which can convey meaning and emotion.
2. Morphology:
* Word formation: This includes variations in how words are formed, such as using prefixes, suffixes, or compounding.
* Pluralization: This involves the way plural forms of nouns are created.
* Verb conjugation: This involves the way verbs are changed to reflect tense, person, and number.
3. Syntax:
* Word order: This refers to the order of words in a sentence.
* Sentence structure: This involves the way sentences are constructed.
* Use of articles (a, an, the): Some dialects may have different rules regarding the use of articles.
4. Lexicon:
* Vocabulary: Dialects may have different words for the same thing, or they may use words differently. This can include slang, jargon, or regionalisms.
* Idioms: These are expressions that have a figurative meaning that is different from the literal meaning of the words.
5. Pragmatics:
* Social context: Dialects can be influenced by social factors such as age, gender, social class, and ethnicity.
* Politeness strategies: Different dialects may use different strategies for being polite or expressing deference.
* Turn-taking: This involves the way people take turns in conversations.
6. Sociolinguistics:
* Social factors influencing language: This includes the role of social class, gender, ethnicity, and age in shaping language variation.
* Language attitudes: People's beliefs and opinions about different dialects can influence language use.
It's important to remember that these components often overlap and interact with each other. Additionally, dialect is a spectrum, with gradual transitions between different varieties.