Overview

This book provides an accessible yet comprehensive introduction to the study of the dialects of English as they are spoken around the world, from the earliest dialect dictionaries of the sixteenth century to contemporary research emerging from the field of geolinguistics. Organised into ten thematic chapters, it explores and evaluates the methods and purposes of each approach to the study of dialectal variation, with full explanations of technical terms throughout. Illuminating one of the most productive fields of interest in language study, this compelling book is essential reading for students of dialect and regional difference in English.

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9780230205819

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Reviews

There are some institutions which offer advanced undergraduate and postgraduate modules in dialectology/ regional variation, and this could be a set text for such modules. It would be an important resource for students undertaking dissertations/ theses in this area, and would therefore have a library market. I am happy with the overall balance and scope of the book. The main strength of the project is its timeliness. There is a new interest in regional variation, as witnessed by the huge public response to the BBC Voices project, and a number of dialectologists/ sociolinguists are applying insights from human geography to dialect studies in new ways. 'I am very enthusiastic about this. An up-to-date volume on dialectology is long overdue. I would certainly recommend it to students as secondary reading for Sociolinguistics, and for my modules on Late Modern English and Dialect in Literature and Song, both of which involve discussion of 19th - century dialectology. If I were to offer a module on dialectology at third-year undergraduate or masters level, I would recommend this as a set text'. - Professor Joan Beal, University of Sheffield, UK

Author Information

Rob Penhallurick is a Reader in English Language at Swansea University. He has written extensively on dialect study and varieties of English, and is also the author of Studying the English Language.

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