clanlect

C3L1A1N1L1E1C3T1
/ˈklæn.lɛkt/

noun

A language variety specific to a clan.

Scrabble 12

Meanings

nounclanlect (plural clanlects)

plural clanlects

  1. 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 410
    1 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
APA

clanlect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clanlect

MLA

“clanlect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clanlect. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “clanlect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/clanlect.

Source: clanlect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.