This thesis investigates a number of key grammatical features found in the previously under-studied Lancashire dialect. While the primary aims of the study are without doubt descriptive. a strong theoretical and methodological component to the investigation is also present. Theoretically, this study is couched within the usage-based approach to language (see e.g. Croft and Cruse, 2004: 291 -327). It employs innovative uses of new methodologies relating not only to a substantial spoken corpus, but also to a newly collated corpus compiled from historical dialect literature texts. Corpus resources are also supported by acceptability judgements and tasks which are gathered from a large number of respondents using new techniques in order to maximise the extent and significance of the data presented here. This thesis details variation that is already well documented in other varieties of English (e.g. relativization, verbal agreement), but differentiates itself by highlighting nuances and complexities not previously considered before, such as semantic differences in the HAVEn’t to construction; constructional competition in the Northern Subject Rule and approaches to using corpora in measuring sociolinguistic salience. Underpinning the thesis is the idea that the interplay between non-standard data and theoretical linguistics can be bidirectional, where theory can inform the analysis of dialect data, and such analysis of dialect data can inform the formulation or further refinement of new or existing linguistic theory (see also Hollmann and Siewierska, 2011 , Hollmann, to appear, and references cited therein). The methods used here and the research presented by employing these methods in the subsequent chapters emphasize the need for a broad range of resource types in order to strengthen claims made in sociolinguistic research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:618561 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Dembry, Claire |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.002 seconds