noun
dialect continuum; dialect chain
Linguistic term for a range of dialects spoken across a geographical area where adjacent varieties are mutually intelligible but distant ones are not.
日本語の方言連続体は、地域によって大きく異なる。
The Japanese dialect continuum varies greatly by region.
Compound of 方言 (hōgen, 'dialect') + 連続体 (renzokutai, 'continuum'), a calque of English 'dialect continuum'.