The dialect in "Sweat" is African American English vernacular. Dialect is used to create a sense of geographical place, and to represent the characters' race and personality. The story is set in a small town in Florida, and the use of dialect helps to paint a picture of both the town and its residents. The dialect also helps to create a sense of community among the characters, as they all share a common cadence and manner of speaking.
The characters' speech includes features such as dropped consonants, non-standard verb forms, and unique vocabulary. For example, the character Sykes says "dis here" instead of "this here." Hurston's use of dialect serves to flesh out the characters, presenting them as members of a storied and coherent cultural setting. Hurston leverages this dialect to deepen the reader's understanding of the context of the narrative, and to introduce a lyrical aspect to the dialogue:
There's plenty men dat takes a wife lak dey do a joint of sugar-cane. But dey squeeze an' grind, squeeze an' grind an' wring tell dey wring every drop uh pleasure dat's in em out.
The reference to sugar cane provides a geographical framing and implies that this scene is taking place in the rural American South, while the use of repetition and a sing-song tone add a melodic element to the dialogue.
Though Hurston employs dialect in her characters' conversations, she writes the descriptive and narrative passages of the story in "standard English." By alternating between standard English in her prose and African American Vernacular English in her dialogue, Hurston presents both forms as valuable in constructing a meaningful narrative about the American South.
