Variations in language, or dialect, demonstrate the evolution of speech patterns and show that people who live in the same geographic location or belong in the same culture, share these same patterns. No dialect is better in structure or is more superior than another and standards in speech varies from dialect to dialect. Due to differences in standards of speech, people with different dialects are more prone to misunderstandings, and negative judgments are easily made among people of different regions and cultural backgrounds. These judgments and misunderstandings aid in reinforcing unfavorable aspects of society, such as racism and discrimination. It is important to teach and demonstrate various dialects that occur in society as a whole. This will promote understanding of others of different regional locations and cultures. Many important works, such as Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Beloved, and the colorful writings of Mark Twain effectively demonstrate the use of dialects. This allows the reader to enter the world of others who belong to different cultures and live in different regional settings in the US. The reader is educated as to what life is like during a certain period while providing an interesting point of view through the use of dialects. The analysis of dialects can be done by reading works of various authors of different cultural backgrounds and even through audio/visual aids, such as a film adaptation of a piece of literature to help in understanding the original work.
             Dialects are present in everyone's speech, no matter where one is located or which cultural group one belongs to. Dialect is influenced by age, education, social class, regional and ethnic background (Hess 281). People who use different dialects risk the greater chance of misinterpretation due to the other's use of language. An example would be a person from the Southern US asking for a "pin" when in fact the person is asking f...