Variety (linguistics)

In sociolinguistics a variety, also called a lect, is a specific form of a language or language cluster. This may include languages, dialects, registers, styles or other forms of language, as well as a standard variety. The use of the word "variety" to refer to these different forms avoids the use of the term language, which many people associate only with the standard language, and the term dialect, which is often associated with non-standard varieties thought of as less prestigious or "correct" than the standard. Linguists speak of both standard and non-standard varieties. "Lect" avoids the problem in ambiguous cases of deciding whether or not two varieties are distinct languages or dialects of a single language.

Variation at the level of the lexicon, such as slang and argot, is often considered in relation to particular styles or levels of formality (also called registers), but such uses are sometimes discussed as varieties themselves.

Dialects

O'Grady et al. define dialect as, "A regional or social variety of a language characterized by its own phonological, syntactic, and lexical properties." A variety spoken in a particular region is called a regional dialect; some regional varieties are called topolects, especially when discussing varieties of Chinese. In addition, there are dialect varieties associated with particular ethnic groups (sometimes called ethnolects), socioeconomic classes (sometimes called sociolects), or other social or cultural groups.

LECT1

Chondromodulin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the LECT1 gene.

This gene encodes a glycosylated transmembrane protein that is cleaved to form a mature, secreted protein. The N-terminus of the precursor protein shares characteristics with other surfactant proteins and is sometimes called chondrosurfactant protein, although no biological activity has yet been defined for it. The C-terminus of the precursor protein contains a 25 kDa mature protein called leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-1 or chondromodulin-1. The mature protein promotes chondrocyte growth and inhibits angiogenesis. This gene is expressed in the avascular zone of prehypertrophic cartilage, and its expression decreases during chondrocyte hypertrophy and vascular invasion. The mature protein likely plays a role in endochondral bone development by permitting cartilaginous anlagen to be vascularized and replaced by bone. It may also be involved in the broad control of tissue vascularization during development. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding different isoforms.

LECT2

Leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the LECT2 gene, and causes Lect2 amyloidosis.

This gene encodes a secreted, 16 kDa protein that acts as a chemotactic factor to neutrophils and stimulates the growth of chondrocytes and osteoblasts. This protein has high sequence similarity to the chondromodulin repeat regions of the chicken myb-induced myeloid 1 protein. A polymorphism in this gene may be associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

References

Further reading