speech variety
【正确答案】：Speech variety, also known as language variety, refers to any distinguishable form of speech used by a speaker or group of speakers. The distinctive characteristics of a speech variety may be lexical, phonological morphological, syntactic, or a combination of linguistic features. Considered a more neutral term, speech variety is sometimes used instead of standard language, vernacular language dialect, pidgin, creole, etc. Speech variation moves on a scale of the national language, dialects, and individual ways of communication. (P165)
【解析】言语变体也称语言变体,指的是一个或一组语言使用者有别于他人的言语特征。一个言语变体的区别性特征可能是词汇方面的、音位方面的、形态方面的、句法方面的,或者是多种语言特征的综合。作为一个比较折中的术语,言语变体经常被用来代替标准语、本国语、方言、皮钦语、克里奥耳语等。言语的变异总是以国语、方言以及不同的个体交际形式之类的规模来进行。
