The Dialects of England [Paperback]

Peter Trudgill (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631218157 | ISBN-13: 978-0631218159 | Publication Date: January 28, 2000 | Edition: 2

This text celebrates the rich variety of regional and social dialects of English in all its forms, ancient and modern.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This text celebrates the rich variety of regional and social dialects of English in all its forms, ancient and modern.

In this new, revised and extended edition, Trudgill includes phonetic symbols along with the orthographic representations of speech sounds. Zummerzet and Scouse, Cockney and Cumberland, Brummie and Berkshire, Nottingham, Norfolk and Estuary English are all covered.

English dialects are the result of 1500 years of linguistic and cultural development. Written in non-technical language, this book outlines their history and their geography. It describes and delights in the diversity of vocabulary, accent, grammar and literature to be found among the dialects of England.

About the Author

Peter Trudgill is Chair of English Linguistics at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. His interest in dialects extends throughout the English-speaking world and he is author of Accent, Dialect and the School, Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society, and many other books on dialectology. He is editor of the Blackwell series 'Language in Society'.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (January 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631218157
• ISBN-13: 978-0631218159
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,355,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction, June 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Dialects of England (Paperback)

Peter Trudgill's "The dialects of England", now in its second edition, is a very helpful book for all those who want to familiarize themselves with the subject matter.

The book is written on a level that is also suitable for non-linguists, although it can easily be used as a course book, too (and, in fact, I got to know it that way).

The first chapter, "Language Variety in England", is a general introduction and worth reading for beginners.

The follwoing two chapters deal with the pronunciation of a)traditional and b) modern dialects, a distinction that is at the core of Trudgill's book.

The fourth chapter deals with selected areas of grammar and its variation in dialectal English. All main features are mentioned, but if one is interested in grammar, this is not the book to turn to (and it's not intended as such).

The last chapter gives an overview of dialect words.

All in all, Trudgill offers a "light reading" (136 pages) for all those who didn't even know that there ARE dialects in England, and also manages to give a good introduction from which the linguist can proceed (sources & further reading).