After the 15th century, Scots diverged sharply from northern English dialect.

ECONOMIST: Scots English

The picnickers nearest to the statue itself, for instance, speak mostly Ilocano, a dialect from northern Luzon.

ECONOMIST: Out of misery, some extraordinary lessons

They live in a scattering of villages in Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy, and some still speak the Walser German dialect.

BBC: Hiking the Alpine Walserweg trail