Language Variation and Change in the American Midland
A New Look at 'Heartland' English
Published on 31. January 2006
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-90-272-4896-1 (ISBN)
Description
This volume explores the linguistic complexities and critical issues of the Midland dialect area of the USA, and contains a unique data-based set of investigations of the Midlands dialect. The authors demonstrate that the large central part of the United States known colloquially as the Heartland, geo-culturally as the Midwest, and linguistically as the Midland is a very real dialect area, one with regional cohesiveness, social complexity, and psycho-emotional impact. The individual essays problematize historical origins, track linguistic markers of social identity over time and across social spaces, frame dialect issues within the linguistic marketplace, account for extra-linguistic influences on changing patterns of linguistic behaviors, and describe maintenance strategies of non-English languages. This book is an important move forward in the understanding of American English. Sociolinguists, dialectologists, applied linguists, and all those involved in the statistical and qualitative study of language variation will find this volume relevant, timely, and insightful.
Reviews / Votes
Language Variation and Change in the American Midland serves as aconsiderable contribution to the growing body of literature on Midland English and, secondarily, is a worthy successor to Fraser's 'Heartland English'. The volume is a must-read book for anyone interested in the state of Midland English in the 21st century. -- Lamont D. Antieau, University of Georgia, on Linguist List 17.2319, 2007More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 164 mm
Weight
750 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-272-4896-1 (9789027248961)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Thomas E. Murray | Beth Lee Simon
Language Variation and Change in the American Midland
A New Look at 'Heartland' English
E-Book
01/2006
1st Edition
John Benjamins Publishing Company
€161.99
Available for download
Persons
Content
1. Introducing the Midland: What is it, where is it, how do we know? (by Simon, Beth Lee); 2. 1. What is dialect? - Revisiting the Midland (by Murray, Thomas E.); 3. The Evolving Midland; 4. 1. The North American Midland as a dialect area (by Ash, Sharon); 5. 2. Tracking the low back merger in Missouri (by Gordon, Matthew); 6. 3. Evidence from Ohio on the evolution of /ae/ (by Thomas, Erik R.); 7. Defining The Midland; 8. 4. On the use of geographic names to inform regional language studies (by Callary, Edward); 9. 5. On the eastern edge of the Heartland: Two industrial city dialects (by Donahue, Thomas); 10. 6. The final days of Appalachian Heritage Language (by Hazen, Kirk); 11. 8. It'll kill ye or cure ye, one: The history and function of alternative one - antecedents of the Midland (by Montgomery, Michael); 12. Power and Perception; 13. 7. Standardizing the Heartland (by Bailey, Richard W.); 14. 10. How to get to be one kind of Midwesterner: Accommodation to the Northern Cities Chain Shift (by Evans, Betsy E.); 15. 11. Midland(s) dialect geography: Social and demographic variables (by Frazer, Timothy C.); 16. 12. Drawing out the /ai/: Dialect boundaries and /ai/ variation (by Bernstein, Cynthia); 17. Other Languages, Other Places; 18. 13. Learning Spanish in the North Georgia Mountains (by Johnson, Ellen); 19. 14. The Midland above the Midland: Dialect variation by region, sex, and social group in the linguistic atlas of the Upper Midwest (by Linn, Mike); 20. 15. Portable Community: The linguistic and psychological reality of Midwestern Pennsylvania German (by Hartman Keiser, Steven); 21. 16. The English of the Swiss Amish of Northeastern Indiana (by Thompson, Chad L.); 22. References; 23. Subject Index