So I work in Canada where we have two official languages, english and french. Although french would be helpful if I were to work in northern quebec, I primarily work in the western arctic. Most people speak english (because of the canadian school system) and I would get a translator for any elders who are less profficient at English. However, it's less about whether or not people can communicate with me, and more about how the language I choose for communication says something about the types of relationships that I wish to cultivate. I've always learned how to say things like "hello" "goodbye" and "thank you" in the languages of the people I work with because it's polite and it shows a respect for whatever information they are giving me. However, the dialects in the arctic represent the different regions of the arctic. And where I work there are multiple dialects, belonging to different groups of people who have lived in the region for varying amounts of time. If I choose a specific dialect it could be seen as saying, "I believe these people are the true inhabitant of the region" rather than "this is the only dialect I could find a teacher for", you know?