dialect that Hurston uses is authentic.  It only enhances the story.  The language helps to reveal the true natures of the characters.  Imagine if the characters spoke very proper English.  This would not be true to their character, background, upbringing, which would be atragedy.  The protagonist is such a complex, rich character and to use any dialect other than her own would be a disservice to her and the story in general:

The dialect itself, aside from portraying the authentic speech patterns of Eatonville, allows Hurston to take ownership of the language. Like Delia, who assumes power through the story by shouting back at Sykes and insulting him, the author gains her own autonomy over the meaning of the text by putting it into the rhythm of her community’s speech pattern.

It is imperative that the white readers of  “Sweat” understand that Zola Neale Hurston did not write the story for them. When Hurston wrote her story in 1926, her readers were the black people reading black southern dialect to add to the flavor of the story. It was the Harlem Renaissance, and these great black writers were establishing themselves as part of the American culture.

The black dialect of the story “Sweat” promotes the authenticity of the characters and events in the story.  Reading the story using the southern black dialect which Hurston learned as a child in Eatonville, Florida, does make the story unusual but adds to the reality of the story which every writer desires. 

Zora Neale Hurston was educated receiving her degree from Columbia in anthropology. Hurston grew up in Eatonville, Florida, which was an all black town in central Florida. Hurston began her writing during the Harlem Renaissance.

This information is important to understand. This is a writer who knew exactly what she was doing when she used the  black dialect.  She was striving to retain the language of  the people that she knew  and grew up listening to as a child.  This was the purpose of the story “Sweat.”

Hurston’s  hometown, Eatonville, was the ideal place for a young black girl in the early twentieth century.  Since the town’s population was all black, the author grew up listening to this dialect.  Her point of view concerning race developed in this environment, and her knowledge of black dialect was first hand.

In her story “Sweat,” Hurston’s story takes place in Eatonville.  The main character is a black woman who works in the white world but lives in the black world.  The way that Delia speaks is authentic.  In the 1920s, Delia represents a different type of woman from the eastern United States.  This black woman who worked hard, who was abused, and who stood up for herself replicated a real person in the southern part of the country.   How could the story have been written any other way then to have Delia speak as she spoke in real life?

Naw you won't," she panted, "that ole snaggle-toothed black woman you runnin' with aint comin' heah to pile up on mah sweat and blood. You aint paid for nothin' on this place, and Ah'm gointer stay right heah till Ah'm toted out foot foremost.

Hurston wanted the reader to listen to the dialogue just as if he was actually in the room hearing Delia tell Sykes that he was not bringing his girlfried to her house.  This is authenticity for which the author wanted.

Part of the fun of reading this story is figuring out exactly what is said in the black dialect. It is not distracting because it is part of the essence of the story.  It is Delia’s story. Let her speak her language. 

No, absolutely not.  Hurston's way of switching between the authentic, realistic dialect of her characters to the grammatically wonderful dialect of the narrator is superb.  It makes the story that much more believable and full of true wisdom and thoughtfulness. eNotes states:

Hurston’s ability to switch between Eatonville dialect and technically grammatical English allows her to act as a sort of intermediary and interpreter, bringing southern folk wisdom to New York...she manages to pose as an ambassador of her culture’s wisdom. Nonbourgeois black readers might be more willing to accept ideas in this form than in the language of a doctoral student at Columbia, since folk wisdom seems much more tried and true than the whims of an individual, ambitious writer, especially when it is presented in authentic dialect.