Topolect 方言

fāngyán · from English (coined by Victor Mair)

What is a topolect?

Topolect is a neutral translation of Chinese 方言 fāngyán (regional speech), avoiding the dialect vs language debate.

Sinologist Victor Mair proposed the term in 1991, noting that 方言 covers everything from slightly different accents to mutually unintelligible languages. It is used in some academic writing on Chinese varieties.

Examples

方言 fāngyán (regional speech); Cantonese and Hokkien as topolects of China

Kungfucius says: A word invented so linguists could stop fighting. It almost worked.