Dialectology

Dialectology (from Greek διάλεκτος, dialektos, 'talk, dialect'; and -λογία, -logia) is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their associated features. Dialectology treats such topics as divergence of two local dialects from a common ancestor and synchronic variation. Dialectology (from Greek διάλεκτος, dialektos, 'talk, dialect'; and -λογία, -logia) is the scientific study of linguistic dialect, a sub-field of sociolinguistics. It studies variations in language based primarily on geographic distribution and their associated features. Dialectology treats such topics as divergence of two local dialects from a common ancestor and synchronic variation. Dialectologists are ultimately concerned with grammatical, lexical and phonological features that correspond to regional areas. Thus they usually deal not only with populations that have lived in certain areas for generations, but also with migrant groups that bring their languages to new areas (see language contact). Commonly studied concepts in dialectology include the problem of mutual intelligibility in defining languages and dialects; situations of diglossia, where two dialects are used for different functions; dialect continua including a number of partially mutually intelligible dialects; and pluricentrism, where what is essentially a single genetic language exists as two or more standard varieties. Hans Kurath and William Labov are among the most prominent researchers in this field. In London, there were comments on the different dialects recorded in 12th century sources, and a large number of dialect glossaries (focussing on vocabulary) were published in the 19th century. Philologists would also study dialects, as they preserved earlier forms of words. The first comparative dialect study in Germany was The Dialects of Bavaria by Johann Andreas Schmeller, which included a linguistic atlas. In 1876, Georg Wenker sent postal questionnaires out over Northern Germany. These postal questionnaires contained a list of sentences written in Standard German. These sentences were then transcribed into the local dialect, reflecting dialectal differences. Many studies proceeded from this, and over the next century dialect studies were carried out all over the world. In Britain, the philologist Alexander John Ellis described the pronunciation of English dialects in an early phonetic system in volume 5 of his series On Early English Pronunciation. The English Dialect Society was later set up by Joseph Wright to record dialect words in the British Isles. This culminated in the production of the six-volume English Dialect Dictionary in 1905. The English Dialect Society was then disbanded, as its work was considered complete, although some regional branches (e.g. the Yorkshire Dialect Society) still operate today. Traditional studies in Dialectology were generally aimed at producing dialect maps, whereby imaginary lines were drawn over a map to indicate different dialect areas. The move away from traditional methods of language study however caused linguists to become more concerned with social factors. Dialectologists therefore began to study social, as well as regional variation. The Linguistic Atlas of the United States (1930s) was amongst the first dialect studies to take social factors into account. Under the leadership of Harold Orton, the University of Leeds became a centre for the study of English dialect, and set up an Institute of Dialect and Folk Life Studies. In the 1950s, the university undertook the Survey of English Dialects, which covered all of England, some bordering areas of Wales and the Isle of Man. In addition, the University undertook more than 100 dialect monographs before the death of Harold Orton in 1975. The Institute closed in September 1983 to accommodate budget cuts for the University, but its dialectological studies are now part of a special collection, the Leeds Archive of Vernacular Culture, in the University's Brotherton Library.