Language and Region:

• provides an accessible guide to regional variation in English
• covers topical issues including loss of regional diversity and attitudes to regional accents and dialects
• examines the use of dialect in media, advertising and the tourist industry
• outlines the main linguistic characteristics of regional accents and dialects in terms of regional pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

Affording hands-on practical experience of textual analysis, this book is essential reading for students of English language studies.

Language and Region:

• provides an accessible guide to regional variation in English
• covers topical issues including loss of regional diversity and attitudes to regional accents and dialects
• examines the use of dialect in media, advertising and the tourist industry
• outlines the main linguistic characteristics of regional accents and dialects in terms of regional pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.

Affording hands-on practical experience of textual analysis, this book is essential reading for students of English language studies.

This bestselling text by Charles Barber, with updating contributions from Joan C. Beal and Philip A. Shaw, recounts the history of the English language from its remote ancestry to the present day. Using dozens of familiar texts, including the English of King Alfred, Shakespeare and Chaucer, the English language is explored in terms of where it came from, where it is going, and the global impact it has had, taking into account the many varieties of English that now exist. Stimulating and interesting, it is not only written for specialists on language and linguistics, but also for general readers who take an interest in the subject.

Thomas Spence (1750-1814) was a native of Newcastle upon Tyne who is best known for his political writings, and more particularly for his radical `Plan' for social reform involving common ownership of the land. One hitherto neglected aspect of Spence's Plan was his proposal to extend the benefits of reading and of `correct' pronunciation to the lower classes by means of a phonetic script of his own devising, first set out and used in Spence's Grand Repository of the English Language (1775). The Grand Repository was one of many English pronouncing dictionaries produced in the late eighteenth century to satisfy the growing demands for a clear guide to `correct' pronunciation. It differs from its contemporaries firstly in that it was intended primarily for the lower classes, and secondly in that it is the only eighteenth-century pronouncing dictionary of English to use a truly `phonetic' script in the sense of one sound = one symbol. In this fascinating and unique account, Beal pays particular attention to the actual pronunciations advocated by Spence and his contemporaries with a view to reconstructing what was felt to be `correct' pronunciation in eighteenth-century Britain. With broad appeal to linguists and historians alike, this study highlights the importance of pronouncing dictionaries as a resource for the historical phonologist, and provides a valuable addition to the limited body of knowledge on eighteenth-century pronunciation.

The Scots dialects of northern Scotland, Orkney and Shetland are among the most traditional varieties of 'English', exhibiting features not current elsewhere for centuries. Until recently, they were spoken in communities whose traditional occupations have encouraged the equation of speech with local identity. They have all also been affected by contact with Gaelic, or Norse, or both. In recent years, however, the decline of traditional industries has been matched by the discovery of oil off their coasts, encouraging in-migration of speakers of many varieties of English and other languages. How well have these varieties maintained their traditional natures at the start of the 21st century? Northern and Insular Scots provides: * An approachable description of the phonological, structural and lexical natures of these varieties * A history of the varieties in relation to the areas in which they are spoken * Examples of the language of native speakers * An annotated bibliography which points the reader towards more specialised works.

This book is a comprehensive but accessible description of English as it is spoken in New Zealand. New Zealand English is one of the youngest native speaker varieties of English, and is the only variety of English where there is recorded evidence of its entire history. It shares some features with other Southern Hemisphere varieties of English such as Australian English and South African English, but is also clearly distinct from these. For the past two decades extensive research has focused on the evolution and ongoing development of the variety. New Zealand English presents the results of this research in an accessible way. Key Features *A succinct but comprehensive account of the phonetic, phonological, morphosyntactic, lexical and discourse features which are characteristic of the dialect. *A discussion of the historical development of New Zealand English. *A description of the current social and regional variation within the variety. *An indication of the areas where change is currently occurring. *Sample texts and an annotated bibliography of relevant literature. There are also several associated audio files, which provide examples of many of the phenomena discussed: http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/dialects/

The Scots dialects of northern Scotland, Orkney and Shetland are among the most traditional varieties of 'English', exhibiting features not current elsewhere for centuries. Until recently, they were spoken in communities whose traditional occupations have encouraged the equation of speech with local identity. They have all also been affected by contact with Gaelic, or Norse, or both. In recent years, however, the decline of traditional industries has been matched by the discovery of oil off their coasts, encouraging in-migration of speakers of many varieties of English and other languages. How well have these varieties maintained their traditional natures at the start of the 21st century? Northern and Insular Scots provides: * An approachable description of the phonological, structural and lexical natures of these varieties * A history of the varieties in relation to the areas in which they are spoken * Examples of the language of native speakers * An annotated bibliography which points the reader towards more specialised works.

This book is a comprehensive but accessible description of English as it is spoken in New Zealand. New Zealand English is one of the youngest native speaker varieties of English, and is the only variety of English where there is recorded evidence of its entire history. It shares some features with other Southern Hemisphere varieties of English such as Australian English and South African English, but is also clearly distinct from these. For the past two decades extensive research has focused on the evolution and ongoing development of the variety. New Zealand English presents the results of this research in an accessible way. Key Features *A succinct but comprehensive account of the phonetic, phonological, morphosyntactic, lexical and discourse features which are characteristic of the dialect. *A discussion of the historical development of New Zealand English. *A description of the current social and regional variation within the variety. *An indication of the areas where change is currently occurring. *Sample texts and an annotated bibliography of relevant literature. There are also several associated audio files, which provide examples of many of the phenomena discussed: http://www.lel.ed.ac.uk/dialects/