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Degrees of dialect ACROLECT The variety of speech that is closest to a standard prestige language, especially in an area in which a creole is spoken. For example, Standard Jamaican English is the acrolect where Jamaican Creole is spoken. For example, "I want it." MESOLECT A variety of speech that is midway between the acrolect and the basilect (somewhere between Standard English and what some people call the "raw form" of dialect/Creole--the basilect). For example, "Me want it." BASILECT The variety of speech that is most remote from the prestige variety, especially in an area where a creole is spoken. This is the "raw" dialect as some people call it. It is the politically and economically weakest dialect becomes the basilect , and often vanishes beneath the pressures of the acrolect.For example, "Me want um." Jamaican examples   "im ah wok oba deh suh" (basilect) "im workin ova deh suh" (low mesolect) "(H)e...