Question

What about the use of dialect made people uncomfortable?

Answer 1

Answer: Dialect is one of the words that nearly everyone feels they understand, but it is really a little more problematic than it appears to be at first. A simple straightforward meaning is that a dialect is any form of English that is differentiated from others by distinctive linguistic features. Such a variety may be identified with a certain area or area or more interestingly, could also be associated with a specific social group—male or female, young or elderly, and so on.

However, whether the emphasis is geographical or social, there are two crucial aspects that need to be addressed when describing 'dialect.' We've got to determine what the building blocks of a dialect could be. And even before that, we might usefully confront the most basic errors that people make when relating to 'dialect.'