When informants associate a particular language variety with a particular group, the presumed social attributes of the group are transferred to the dialect itself; that dialect is then associated with those attributes even when informants cannot correctly identify the source of the dialect.
The presumed social attributes of the group are transferred to the dialect itself. Informants associate a particular language variety with a particular group. That dialect is then associated with those attributes. Informants cannot correctly identify the source of the dialect.