Language in Society

1.3 Dialect Myths and Linguistic Reality
What do these popular uses of the term “dialect” say about the general public’s percep-
tion of dialect, especially as it differs from the neutral technical definition presented 
earlier? As the preceding discussion points out, there is a popular mythology about 
language differences that is at odds with the linguistic facts about language diversity. 
Following are some of these myths, as they contrast with linguistic reality:
M
yth
:
A dialect is something that 
someone else
speaks.
R
eality
:
Everyone who speaks a language speaks some dialect of the language; it is 
not possible to speak a language without speaking a dialect of the language. Some 
dialects get much more attention than others, but this social recognition is unrelated 
to dialect status.
M
yth
:
Dialects result from unsuccessful attempts to speak the “correct” form of a 
language.
R
eality
:
Dialect speakers acquire their language by adopting the speech patterns of 
those around them, not by failing in their attempts to adopt mainstream language 
features. Dialects, like all language systems, are systematic and regular; socially dis-
favored dialects can be described with the same kind of linguistic precision as socially 
favored, prestigious language varieties; they are not “a collection of mistakes.”
M
yth
:
Dialects in the United States are receding due to the influence of the mass 
media and population mobility.
R
eality
:
Dialects are dynamic; while some once‐isolated dialects are receding, others 
are intensifying and diversifying. For example, some island dialects on the Eastern 
coast of the United States are fading away, while others are becoming more dis-
tinctive. In addition, new dialects are developing on the West Coast, for example 
in California, Oregon, and Washington. Further, major United States dialect 

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Dialects, Standards, and Vernaculars
9
divisions, especially that between the North and the South, are getting deeper, 
with the dialects becoming more rather than less different from one another.
M
yth
:
Speaking a dialect limits a person’s ability to express precise ideas and abstract 
constructs.
R
eality
:
All language systems enable the expression of precision, complexity, 
abstractions, and artistry.
Though most dialect myths have negative connotations, there are occasional positive 
associations, though these are often based on romanticized notions of “quaint” or “pure” 
dialects. For example, some people believe that dialects in historically isolated regions, 
such as those in the Appalachian Mountains and in the islands along the Southeastern 
coast of the United States, preserve Elizabethan or Shakespearean English. Though 
some features from older forms of English may endure in these varieties, these dialects 
are constantly undergoing change as well. In fact, sometimes small, relatively isolated 
dialects may change more rapidly than more widespread language varieties. Language is 
a dynamic phenomenon, and the only static variety of language is, in reality, a dead one.