Overview

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.

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9781474452908

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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 Fribourg

Author Information

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.

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