Socially different accent and dialects are not considered to be on an equal level. Standard English is used in today's society, as a yardstick and prestigious status would mainly seem to be obtainable when using this form of dialect. I will assess data to give weight to the theory that we are in fact judged by the way in which we use our language. There will always be disagreements concerning how and when we should use any particular accent or dialect. Attitudes are much more evident toward the context in which any given individual uses their accent or dialect, even though all will have a use in their own right. I will identify examples of situations where only Standard English will suffice. In the same respect I will also give examples of aspects that will only receive localized accent or dialect to achieve the effect necessary for successful communication. .
To analyse language in any way we must first make the distinction between accent and dialect. Accent is the way in which we pronounce our words. A distinctive difference between accent in the North and South of England is long or short "a" in words like "bath". My own dialect is "scouse" and is unique to the people of Liverpool, clearly this is just a variation and there are many more all over the world, we could not describe anybody as accent free as even Standard English carries its own variety of pronunciation. Dialect is more concerned with vocabulary and grammar, for example in Scotland the word "little" would be "wee", so we can see that dialect is distinguished by its own unique features and is most often of a certain region. As one would imagine thre are many varieties of accent and dialect, this is mainly due to historical and georaphical factors.
So who sets the standard? Who dictates the forms of accent and dialect that we should use in any given situation. The world has acquired a number of highly respected linguist such as Crystal.
