Language disorder or language variation?

This paper explores the challenges of diagnosing and treating language disorders in the context of languages with strong dialectal diversity. After defining language disorder and language variety, I use the case of Slovenian to show how the linguistic features of dialect speakers can often resemble those of individuals with language impairments, across all domains from phonology to semantics. These similarities can complicate diagnosis, as dialectal features may be misidentified as pathological speech. Intervention, therefore, must be sensitive to the speaker’s linguistic background and respect the speaker’s variety. The solution lies in in­creasing awareness among speech therapists and ensuring they receive appropriate training to distinguish between dialectal variation and disorder. The paper uses as a model the approach US speech therapy has developed for speakers of African American English, illustrating how culturally and linguistically responsive practices can lead to more accurate diagnoses and more effective, respectful interventions.