acrolect
nounUS /ˈæk.ɹə.lɛkt/
Etymology From acro- (“tip; peak”) + -lect, coined by William Alexander Stewart in 1965.
1
Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences, Social science, Sociolinguistics, Sociology The variety of speech that is considered most suitable for formal occasions (typically using only standard forms).
- In one dimension change is directed toward the acrolect, the “typical” change in the creole continuum.1994, Michael Montgomery, The Crucible of Carolina, University of Georgia Press, →ISBN, page 60:
- At the other end of the continuum is the most standard speech, the acrolect. In between is a gradient of forms with many successive levels, the mesolects.2013, Allan Bell, The Guidebook to Sociolinguistics, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN, page 83:
- Derived terms
- acrolectal
- Related terms
- code-switching, matrilect