2.1. Linguistic Geography

Linguistic geography is a branch of study that implies "a geographical investigation of 'linguistics' as an abstract structure" (cf. Kretzschmar 2013:54). Trudgill (1975: 228) defines it as follows:, “linguistic geography has been geographical only in the sense that it has been concerned with the spatial distribution of linguistic phenomena.” So, it aims at attributing some general quality of language to geography, and thus facilitating the areal study characterized by linguistic differences.

Dialect Geography

Dialect geography addresses a more specific relationship of language to geography. The Free Dictionary defines it as "the study of dialects with regard to their geographic distribution, as well as how their distribution may be affected by geography, e.g., the spread of a particular dialect being halted at a mountain range, forest belt, body of water, etc.".

Word Geography

Word geography also deals with a specific quality of language. According to Kretzschmar (2013:55), "it indicates the study of the areal distribution of particular words, without any claim about the reality of dialects". There are various possibilities in studying word geography. The focus may be on lexical choice, e.g., whether one says puppy or whelp to name a 'very young dog'. It might be morphological or grammatical (Kretzschmar 2013:56) e.g., the choice of preposition to, in, or at in the phrase sick ___one's stomach. One may also consider the pronunciation, e.g., [dif] vs. [dεf] for deaf; realization of the initial consonant of who ([hw]-, [w]-, [h]-, [∅]-), etc.

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