Look up: isogloss

1. isogloss
   (from the article `dialect`) ...between neighbouring local dialects are usually small, but, in travelling farther in the same direction, differences accumulate. Every dialectal ... ...from neighbouring dialects. It became more and more clear that each dialectal element or phenomenon refused to stay neatly within the borders of a ... ...
   Found on http://www.britannica.com/eb/a-z/i/44
   
   
2. isogloss
   isogloss 1. In linguistics, a speech area in which a line between places that delimits any feature of language; such as, pronunciation, inflection, vocabulary, or syntax is shown. 2. The geographical range of a given word, pronunciation, or usage.
   Found on http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index/inf
   
   
3. Isogloss
   An `isogloss`—also called a `heterogloss` (see Etymology below)—is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature. Major dialects are typically demarcated by whole bundles...
   Found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogloss