The complexity and diversity of the words in Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary
-
Manfred Markus
Abstract
Given that the Late Modern English (LModE) period has been widely neglected in English historical linguistics and that dialect is now seen by many to play a role as sociolect rather than regionalect, the material on English dialects in Joseph Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary (EDD) (1898––1905) is all the more valuable and, therefore, discussed in this paper in its substantiality and complexity. The dictionary provides much more than just the attribution of dialect words to region. Wright has compiled data on practically all levels of the language system and on many kinds of usage features – sometimes, as in the case of pragmatics, features of which he could not have been aware. This survey paper presents a selection of such features, which range from phonetics and spelling to idiomatic phrases, and from rhyme and rhythm to types of word formation. At the same time, the paper demonstrates how the interface of EDD Online, the computerized version of the dictionary, tries to reflect and make accessible the EDD’s wealth of information.
Abstract
Given that the Late Modern English (LModE) period has been widely neglected in English historical linguistics and that dialect is now seen by many to play a role as sociolect rather than regionalect, the material on English dialects in Joseph Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary (EDD) (1898––1905) is all the more valuable and, therefore, discussed in this paper in its substantiality and complexity. The dictionary provides much more than just the attribution of dialect words to region. Wright has compiled data on practically all levels of the language system and on many kinds of usage features – sometimes, as in the case of pragmatics, features of which he could not have been aware. This survey paper presents a selection of such features, which range from phonetics and spelling to idiomatic phrases, and from rhyme and rhythm to types of word formation. At the same time, the paper demonstrates how the interface of EDD Online, the computerized version of the dictionary, tries to reflect and make accessible the EDD’s wealth of information.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Introduction 1
-
Corpus linguistics today and tomorrow
- Can’t see the wood for the trees? 13
- Spelling variation in Middle English manuscripts 31
-
Aspects of language change
- The development of compound numerals in English Biblical translations 49
- The complements of causative make in Late Middle English 59
- The pragmaticalization and intensification of verily , truly and really 75
- Concept-driven semasiology and onomasiology of CLERGY 93
- ANGER and TĒNE in Middle English 109
-
Middle and Modern English case studies
- The subjunctive vs. modal auxiliaries 127
- Some notes on the distribution of the quantifier all in Middle English 141
- Interjections in Middle English 157
- Why and what in Early Modern English drama 177
- Colloquialization and not -contraction in nineteenth-century English 191
-
Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary and thereafter
- The complexity and diversity of the words in Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary 209
- Etymology in the English Dialect Dictionary 225
- Towards an understanding of Joseph Wright’s sources 241
- The importance of being Janus 257
- ... ging uns der ganze alte Dialektbegriff in eine Illusion auf 269
- Index 285
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- List of abbreviations vii
- Introduction 1
-
Corpus linguistics today and tomorrow
- Can’t see the wood for the trees? 13
- Spelling variation in Middle English manuscripts 31
-
Aspects of language change
- The development of compound numerals in English Biblical translations 49
- The complements of causative make in Late Middle English 59
- The pragmaticalization and intensification of verily , truly and really 75
- Concept-driven semasiology and onomasiology of CLERGY 93
- ANGER and TĒNE in Middle English 109
-
Middle and Modern English case studies
- The subjunctive vs. modal auxiliaries 127
- Some notes on the distribution of the quantifier all in Middle English 141
- Interjections in Middle English 157
- Why and what in Early Modern English drama 177
- Colloquialization and not -contraction in nineteenth-century English 191
-
Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary and thereafter
- The complexity and diversity of the words in Wright’s English Dialect Dictionary 209
- Etymology in the English Dialect Dictionary 225
- Towards an understanding of Joseph Wright’s sources 241
- The importance of being Janus 257
- ... ging uns der ganze alte Dialektbegriff in eine Illusion auf 269
- Index 285
