diagnostic test n
a test that is designed to provide information about L2 learners’ strengths
and weaknesses. For example, a diagnostic pronunciation test may be used
to measure the L2 learners’ pronunciation of English sounds. It would show
which sounds L2 learners are and are not able to pronounce or whether
their pronunciation is intelligible or not. Diagnostic tests may be used to
find out how much L2 learners know before beginning a language course to
better provide an efficient and effective course of instruction.
diagramming n
(in teaching composition) a technique which is sometimes used to show
how the parts of a sentence are related. For example:
diagnostic testsee also base componentdialect ndialectal adj
a variety of a language, spoken in one part of a country (regional dialect),
or by people belonging to a particular social class (social dialect or socio-
lect), which is different in some words, grammar, and/or pronunciation
from other forms of the same language.
A dialect is often associated with a particular accent^3. Sometimes a dialect
gains status and becomes the standard varietyof a country.
see also speech variety
dialect levelling n
also koinéization
a process through which dialect differences become reduced, for example
when people speaking different dialects move to a new area and the
variety spoken in that place after a time becomes a more common variety
with fewer features associated with the specific dialects of those who
migrated there. Dialect levelling has been a major process in the formation
of both American and other varieties of English such as New Zealand
English.