Language and Dialect Contact in Ireland
The Phonological Origins of Mid-Ulster English
Published on 25. August 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
272 pages
978-1-4744-5291-5 (ISBN)
Description
Warren Maguire examines Mid-Ulster English as a key case of new dialect formation, considering the roles of language shift and dialect contact in its phonological development. He explores the different processes which led to the development of MUE through contact between dialects of English, Scots and Irish and examines the history of a wide range of consonantal and vocalic features. In addition to determining the phonological origins of MUE, Maguire shows us why the dialect developed in the way that it did and considers what the phonology of the dialect can tell us about the nature of contact between the input language varieties. In doing so, he demonstrates the kinds of analysis and techniques that can be used to explain the development of extra-territorial varieties of English and colonial dialects in complex situations of contact, and shows that Irish English provides a useful testing-ground for models of new dialect formation.
As one of the oldest 'new' extra-territorial varieties of English, one which developed in a context of language and dialect contact, MUE provides an excellent opportunity to study how new dialects develop in situations of settlement colonisation.
As one of the oldest 'new' extra-territorial varieties of English, one which developed in a context of language and dialect contact, MUE provides an excellent opportunity to study how new dialects develop in situations of settlement colonisation.
Reviews / Votes
The basic question Maguire attempts to answer is: why is Mid-Ulster English (MUE) like it is? This is an important question of great theoretical and historical linguistic importance and interest. The book tells a fascinating story, and expounds it very clearly and interestingly. It is a highly erudite piece of work - the historical and linguistic research on which it is based is exemplary - and the discussion is presented in a very agreeably judicious manner. -- Professor Peter Trudgill, Professor Emeritus, University of FribourgMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
15 black and white tables, 5 black and white graphics, 8 black and white maps
Dimensions
Height: 227 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
314 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4744-5291-5 (9781474452915)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Warren Maguire is a Senior Lecturer in English Language at the University of Edinburgh. Warren is Depute Director of the Angus McIntosh Centre for Historical Linguistics. He is co-editor of the journal English Language and Linguistics, author of Language and Dialect Contact in Ireland (EUP, 2020) and co-editor of Dialect Writing and the North of England (EUP, 2020). Warren is a leading expert in variation and change in dialects of English and Scots in Britain and Ireland.
Content
Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. About this book 1.2. What is Mid-Ulster English? 1.3. The phonological origins of Mid-Ulster English 1.4. Sources and methods 1.5. Structure of this book Chapter 2: Background 2.1. Preliminaries 2.2. English in Ulster before the 17th century 2.3. The Plantation of Ulster and its associated settlements 2.4. Demographic and linguistic transformation in the 17th and early 18th centuries2.5. Ulster in subsequent centuries 2.6. The decline of Irish in Ulster 2.7. The ethno-religious dimension 2.8. The linguistic history of Ulster Chapter 3: Consonants 3.1. The consonants of MUE 3.2. The dorsal and glottal fricatives 3.3. Velar Palatalisation 3.4. The Palato-alveolars and Palatal Velarisation 3.5. Pre-R Dentalisation 3.6. Intervocalic /t/-Voicing 3.7. Dental fricatives 3.8. Rhoticity, /r/ realisation and Post-/r/ Retraction 3.9. The distribution and realisation of /l/ 3.9.1. The lexical distribution of /l/ 3.9.2. The realisation of /l/ 3.10. Epenthesis 3.11. Consonant cluster simplification 3.11.1. Deletion of /t/ 3.11.2. Deletion of /d/ after /l/ 3.11.3. Deletion of /d/ after /n/ 3.11.4. Deletion of /b/ and /g/ 3.11.5. Summary 3.12. Other consonantal features 3.13. Summary Chapter 4: Vowels 4.1. The MUE vowels 4.2. Vowel quality in MUE 4.3. Vowel quantity in MUE 4.4. Lexical distribution 4.5. Summary Chapter 5: Discussion 5.1. Preliminaries 5.2. Contact with Irish 5.3. The English input to MUE 5.4. The Scots input to MUE Chapter 6: Conclusions Bibliography