Survey Of English Dialects

Survey of English Dialects

First Published in 1994. The Survey of English Dialects (SED) is the only detailed nation-wide dialect survey which has ever been conducted in England. The SED is a unique repository of data on the traditional dialects of England in the mid-twentieth century. This remarkable record is a valuable resource for scholars in the fields of British English dialectology, sociolinguistics, and English historical linguistics. The SED fieldwork was undertaken in predominantly rural communities in England in the middle of the twentieth century, at a time when social, domestic and working life was undergoing very significant changes. The SED is thus a record of speech which reflects a society different in many ways from today, and as such affords the possibility of comparison which is instructive to those engaged in all types of study of linguistics today.

An Atlas of English Dialects

Do you call it April Fools’ Day, April Noddy Day or April Gowkin’ Day? Is the season before winter the Autumn, the Fall or the Backend? When you’re out of breath, do you pant, puff, pank, tift or thock? The words we use (and the sounds we make when we use them) are more often than not a product of where we live, and An Atlas of English Dialects shows the reader where certain words, sounds and phrases originate from and why usage varies from region to region. The Atlas includes: ninety maps showing the regions in which particular words, phrases and pronunciations are used detailed commentaries explaining points of linguistic, historical and cultural interest explanations of linguistic terms, a bibliography for further reading and a full index. Based on the Survey of English Dialects – the most extensive record of English regional speech – the Atlas is a fascinating and informative guide to the diversity of the English Language in England.

Survey of English Dialects