The core object of study of the Dialectology and Diachrony group (D&D) is language variation, across centuries and covering several geographical areas. The group’s descriptive and theoretical studies, which are regularly published in prestigious journals and volumes, are accompanied by the construction of various digital resources from either historical documents or contemporary oral data in non-standard varieties of Portuguese or Portuguese-related languages. A substantial part of these oral data have been gathered in Portugal, both in the archipelagos of Madeira and the Azores, and in the mainland, where some of the varieties under study are spoken in different points of the border with Spain. Additionally, D&D studies Portuguese or Portuguese-related varieties that are, to a variable degree, the product of contact with other languages, which is the case of Caboverdean and Brazilian Portuguese. All these works assume a comparative perspective with other natural languages, from diverse periods and regions.

The standard varieties, however, are not left behind, since part of the group’s activities and outputs concerns (i) the intricate linkage between those and the non-standard varieties, and (ii) the development of new tools for the formal teaching of Portuguese.

This coverage of standard and non-standard varieties ensures a connection between theoretical research and the community at large (including productive collaborations with other Portuguese teaching entities, in Portugal and abroad), also guaranteed by the regular presence of various group members in open online seminars and conferences, and further highlighted by science communication endeavours, such as general audience publications and language oriented cultural events.