4 ms·

> speak a proper dialect (not mutually understandable with regular Polish speakers) a language's dialects are mutually understandable by definition IMO, if the

• int_19h 5y ago
  Mutual intelligibility is a gradual scale, not a binary. So where you draw the line on that scale is a rather arbitrary (and usually political) decision.
• skummetmaelk 5y ago
  A language is a dialect with an army and navy.
• arethuza 5y ago
  The broad Doric Scots I spoke as a child is, like a lot of regional linguistic variations in the UK, notoriously impenetrable to outsiders but I've never heard it described as anything other than a dialect. e.g. I might have enquired of a visitor when I was a wee loonie "Far div ye bide?" - "Where do you stay?"
  • truculent 5y ago
    I have heard it called language but, notably, by people from outside the UK
    • arethuza 5y ago
      My personal favourite silly example of Doric being "fit fit fits fit fit" - "Which foot fits into which foot" (talking about shoes, apparently).
• aljarry 5y ago
  Depends on the definition, and final decision of linguists. It's an ongoing controversy in Poland for two languages / dialects: Kashubski language and Silesian language. Both are strictly used only by regional minorities, both are not understood well by Poles from other areas, and both have German influences. Kashubski is mostly called a language, even thought it's not officially recognized as a regional language (you can't expect to use it in for official matters). Silesian is mostly called a dialect/subdialect, but there's a regional movement to elevate Silesian to a separate language through political means.