Language, culture, and second dialect learning

Language, like culture, is variously represented in societies. Geographical dispersion of social groups within a society can be associated with regional linguistic or dialectal differences and, within the same location, social differentiation can be expressed in sociolects. The matter is complicated by the movement of groups across cultural settings and the role of language in helping to maintain the distinctiveness of groups of different origin. The phenomenon of the ‘spread of English’ ( García and Otheguy 1989 : 1) has entailed significant linguistic change worldwide, in that it has led to the emergence of new Englishes and added to the linguistic repertoires of many cultures.