It's not a language when it cannot function as a tool for communication.

hello, here's what I got: Strange as it may seem, there's no really good way to distinguish between a "language" and a "dialect." Because they're not objective, scientific terms. People use the words "dialect" and "language" to mean different things. "Language" can often refer to your own linguistic variety and "dialect" to the variety spoken by someone else, usually someone thought of as inferior. Or "language" can mean the generally accepted "standard" or radio-talk language of a country, while dialects are homely versions of it that vary from region to region and may not be pronounced the way the so-called "language" is. Language varieties are called "dialects" rather than "languages" because they're not written, or because speakers of that variety don't run the country, or because their language lacks prestige. In short, the distinction is subjective. It depends on who you are and where you sit. In other country, "dialect" is referred to "MINOR language." :)

Dialect is that language of a specific group of people from a particular ethnic or geographic background.

It is not a language when it's made up. For example children make up their own secret language, especially twins to communicate with each other.

Hello Gisela, A language is always a language and a dialect is a form of pronouncing this language that deviates from the standard form due to regional or ethnic differences.