Dialect: In linguistics, there has been the interest to distinguish between what is called dialect from what is called language.
Within this perspective, a dialect is defined as a variety, type, class or kind of a language that is different from other varieties of the same language which is evident in the way its pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, discourse conventions, and other linguistic features differ.
Dialects are rule-governed systems, with systematic deviations from other dialects of the same language (Crystal, 1997).
In the classification of dialects, we have such terms as:
Sociolect/Social Dialect: In the study of dialect, social dialect is a variety of speech associated with a particular social class or occupational group within a society. Also known as sociolect, group idiolect, and class dialect.
Regiolect / Regional Dialect: Linguist Barbara Johnstone notes, “sociolinguists have typically thought of place in physical terms, as the location of speakers of varieties in space, on the globe or on a map…we need to conceptualize place not just as a demographic fact, but as an ideological construct, created through human interaction.”
Therefore, a regional dialect is a different or distinct form of a language spoken in a particular geographical area. It is also known as a regiolect or topolect.