Speech community

The speech community is not uniformly defined. According to the dictionary it is " the totality of all native speakers of a language ." In general linguistics thus is referred to a group that is in social contact and applies a specific, common language. Thus, an individual language may also invented in a small group, developed and maintained ( sociolect ). Likewise, there may be the common language, for example, a standard language within a small area different language communities ( dialects ). Sometimes also the communities of Belgium are called linguistic communities, these are member states of the Belgian Federal State.

Prerequisite for understanding within a speech community is the shared structure of a living language system and language use, which is known to all speakers in their meaning.