Northern English in Writing
-
Katie Wales
Abstract
Northern English is an important variety of British English, which has tended to be neglected in textbooks on the history of English. The chapter describes Northern English from the Early Modern period (1500–1900), based on evidence from a wide range of vernacular texts and styles. The first section of the chapter gives an overview of the foundations of Northern English. The second surveys the main types of texts used as data, and discusses also issues of reliability and limitation. In the third section salient features of ‘common core’ Northern English from this period are described, and also noteworthy regional variants, on the levels of phonology, morphology, syntaxt, lexis and discourse. Degrees of resilience or recessiveness are indicated, and particular innovations. The chapter as a whole seeks to confirm the distinctiveness of Northern English north of the Humber; and more generally the richness of vernacular literature as a source of data about dialect speech, much of it as yet under-explored.
Abstract
Northern English is an important variety of British English, which has tended to be neglected in textbooks on the history of English. The chapter describes Northern English from the Early Modern period (1500–1900), based on evidence from a wide range of vernacular texts and styles. The first section of the chapter gives an overview of the foundations of Northern English. The second surveys the main types of texts used as data, and discusses also issues of reliability and limitation. In the third section salient features of ‘common core’ Northern English from this period are described, and also noteworthy regional variants, on the levels of phonology, morphology, syntaxt, lexis and discourse. Degrees of resilience or recessiveness are indicated, and particular innovations. The chapter as a whole seeks to confirm the distinctiveness of Northern English north of the Humber; and more generally the richness of vernacular literature as a source of data about dialect speech, much of it as yet under-explored.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Linguistic evaluation of earlier texts 1
- Non-standard language in earlier English 15
- Assessing non-standard writing in lexicography 43
- Northern English in Writing 61
- Southern English in writing 81
- The distinctiveness of Scots 99
- Irish English in early modern drama 121
- ‘ [H]ushed and lulled full chimes for pushed and pulled ’ 139
- Dialect literature and English in the USA 163
- Written sources for Canadian English 197
- Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in writing 223
- Earliest St Helenian English in writing 245
- An abundant harvest to the philologer’? 263
- A peculiar language’ 295
- Describing and complaining 349
- Feature index 365
- Name index 367
- Subject index 371
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
- List of contributors ix
- Linguistic evaluation of earlier texts 1
- Non-standard language in earlier English 15
- Assessing non-standard writing in lexicography 43
- Northern English in Writing 61
- Southern English in writing 81
- The distinctiveness of Scots 99
- Irish English in early modern drama 121
- ‘ [H]ushed and lulled full chimes for pushed and pulled ’ 139
- Dialect literature and English in the USA 163
- Written sources for Canadian English 197
- Earlier Caribbean English and Creole in writing 223
- Earliest St Helenian English in writing 245
- An abundant harvest to the philologer’? 263
- A peculiar language’ 295
- Describing and complaining 349
- Feature index 365
- Name index 367
- Subject index 371
