Year 12 - Read, Watch, Visit

Dialect and Heritage Project

In 2022, staff from the University of Leeds embarked on a new linguistic adventure. Inspired by the team who produced the Survey of English Dialects over 50 years ago, Professor Fiona Douglas and Dr Rosemary Hall decided to bring this important research bang up to date with a new study – the Great Big Dialect Hunt survey.

Listen to sound bites of stories from the original study and the updated study to enjoy our rich and diverse dialect in Britain and beyond, from slingers to water whelps and wallops to nine-pins.

Watch clips or episodes of The Crown. Watch an early episode/clip and a later one to compare the use of RP.  Look out for: Non‑rhoticity (dropping the “r” at the end of words)

Precise vowel sounds (e.g., /ɑː/ in “bath”)

Lack of regional markers

Careful enunciation and pitch pattern

Search the specific topic on the following websites:

YouTube - BicenMaths

Visit rural villages in Dorset and listen to the locals. Sociolinguists make a living from ear-wigging and gathering data! Of course, always let people know if you intend to record them. A great idea for the start of a language investigation project.