basilectn.
/ˈbasɪlɛkt/ Linguistics.
In a post-creole community, the social dialect that is most closely related to the creole and furthest removed from the standard language; also, the least prestigious or ‘lowest’ variety of any language. Cf. acrolect n., mesolect n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > dialect > [noun] > social or class dialect
patois1643
social dialect1852
group language1920
group dialect1928
non-U1954
sociolect1963
acrolect1965
basilect1965
mesolect1971
folk-speech-
1965 W. A. Stewart in R. W. Shuy Social Dial. & Lang. Learning 15 I will refer to this topmost dialect in the local sociolinguistic hierarchy as acrolect (from acro- ‘apex’ plus -lect as in dialect). In most cases what is meant by ‘Standard’ English is either acrolect or something close to it. At the other extreme is a kind of speech which I refer to hereafter as basilect (from basi- ‘bottom’).
1977 Language 53 330 Speakers in a post-creole community are triply pressured: to avoid the basilect, to acquire the acrolect, and to vary the mesolect.
1982 R. Quirk Style & Communication in Eng. Lang. iii. 44 Nuclear English can carry no such stigma as that frequently perceived..in relation to basilect forms of English.
Derivatives
basiˈlectal adj. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the basilect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > dialect > [adjective] > terms relating to social or class dialects
patois1783
non-U1954
sociolectal1968
acrolectal1971
mesolectal1976
basilectal1977
1977 Language 53 334 The major social motives account for these classes of variation: (a) pressure to avoid basilectal forms, [etc.].
1982 Eng. World-wide 3 i. 56 There is no equivalent of the mesolectal or basilectal speech styles found, for example, in Singapore.
1985 Amer. Speech 60 45 The language impresses the reader as basilectal through and through.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1989; most recently modified version published online March 2018).
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n.1965