Locating Dialect in Discourse the Language of Honest Men and Bonnie Lassies in Ayr

Macaulay, Ronald K. S.

ISBN 10: 019506559X / ISBN 13: 9780195065596

Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991

About this Item

293 pages; 5 3/4 x 8 1/2" Jacket in mylar sleeve.

Seller Inventory # 128407

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Locating Dialect in Discourse the Language of Honest Men and Bonnie Lassies in Ayr
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Publication Date: 1991
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019506559X
• ISBN 13: 9780195065596
• Binding: hardcover
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

The most extensive study of a Scottish dialect ever made, this work combines dialectology and sociolinguistics to present social differences within the compass of a single dialect. While most dialect and sociolinguistic studies concentrate on a narrow range of variables, this study examines phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, and discourse features, and examines social differences in the use of these features. Macaulay treats the interviews as speech events, demonstrating how such factors as topic, genre, and the interview situation itself affect the quality of the language recorded. The variety of speech recorded in the interviews he has conducted refutes any claim that good data cannot be obtained through dyadic interviews.

Synopsis

This monograph charts and analyzes variations in speech between speakers of different social classes in the city of Ayr, Scotland. Its principal goal is to reconcile the modern recognition of the range of variation in speech with the problematic concept of dialect.