Meanings
plural clanlects
- A language variety specific to a clan.
Clanlect features of nonmobile adults and teenagers in both the North and the South clans were recorded for comparison to the mobile married women.
2008, James N. Stanford, “A sociotonetic analysis of Sui dialect contact”, in Language Variation and Change, volume 20, number 3, →DOI, →ISSN, page 4101 more example
At Cape Keerweer (western Cape York), for example, “all clans have at least slightly different dialects” (Sutton 1978: 183) or ‘clanlects’. In practice, clanlects perceived to be similar in this region are often referred to by the same name (1978: 180), although from the linguist’s perspective the named varieties are in some cases very similar.
2023, Jill Vaughan, Ruth Singer, Murray Garde, “Language naming in Indigenous Australia: a view from western Arnhem Land”, in Multilingua, volume 42, number 1, →DOI, →ISSN, page 89
Origin
Cite this entry
clanlect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clanlect
“clanlect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clanlect. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clanlect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clanlect.
Source: clanlect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.