>> However dialect doesn't usually impede communication, it's just
>> that some words and occassional sentences are incomprehensible.
>> Rephrasing them or speaking slowly solves the communication
>> problem. What it does do is mark out strangers - they speak funny.
>> That of course is justification for a penalty for impressing
>> someone.
>
>I disagree - I find strong Glaswegian, Geordie, Cajun, Ozark and some
>South Carolinan dialects perfectly incomprehensible.
The two I've experienced, Glaswegian and Geordie, are extremes and incomprehensible mostly though accent rather than dialect. There is nothing that can't be overcome by the two people concerned making an effort to communicate. Of course there are individuals who show off by making their speech incomprehensible to strangers.
-- Donald Oddy http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/
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