The words "dialect" and "accent" are often used interchangeably,
but they have different meanings. An accent might be described
by muddling up the difference between words people use and the
sounds they make, their pronunciation. It is the distinct way
that a group of persons or even one particular individual speaks
with distinctive phonetics and phonology. Groups sharing an
identifiable accent may be defined by any variety of common
traits, such as regional, the socio-economic status of its
speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their
first language (when the language in which the accent is heard
is not their native language), etc. In the US, think Boston, New
Orleans, etc. For example, the Southern accent might refer to
the pronunciation of the vowels like fire to 'fahr' or stress
shift like 'po lice versus po 'lice.
A dialect is a variation in the language itself and not only in
the pronunciation. Dialect is a type of language that is derived
from a primary language. A dialect is a variety of language
differing in vocabulary and grammar as well as pronunciation.
Dialects are usually spoken by a group united by geography or
class. It is a geographically or ethnically restricted form of a
language characterized by a combination of distinctive phonetics
(individual sounds), phonology (sound system rules), syntax,
grammar, and vocabulary. The major native dialects of English
are often divided by linguists into three general categories:
British Isles dialect, North America dialect, and those of
Australasia.
If someone from India
were to move to London and start speaking English, we would
refer to the speech as foreign accented speech, not a dialect.