人们往往把方言看成是一种不标准的语言形式。实际上这种看法是本末倒置。例如在十五世纪,英国有许多方言。伦敦方言压倒了其它方言,成为英国的标准语,因为伦敦自中世纪晚期起就是英国的商业,政治及文化中心。类似的情况也发生在欧洲其它国家。但是在美国,没有一种方言成为全国公认的标准语。在十九世纪,有些人特别推崇“哈佛口音”。这种口音实际上就是位于美国东部波士顿及剑桥地区的新英格兰东部方 People tend to regard dialects as a non-standard language form. In fact this view is the cart before the horse. In the fifteenth century, for example, there were many dialects in Britain. London dialects overwhelmed other dialects and became standard English in the United Kingdom, as London has been Britain’s commercial, political and cultural center since the late Middle Ages. A similar situation also occurs in other European countries. But in the United States, no dialect has become recognized as a standard language in the country. In the nineteenth century, some people espouse “Harvard accents.” This accent is actually the eastern part of New England in the eastern United States, Boston and Cambridge