ACCENT AND IDENTITY IN TRANSITION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF ENGLISH VARIETIES
Keywords:
identity, origin, social class, cultural background.Abstract
Language is not just a tool for communication; it is a powerful marker of identity. This is particularly evident in the various accents and dialects of English spoken around the world. As English has spread globally, it has evolved into numerous varieties, each carrying its own cultural significance and identity. This text explores the intricate relationship between accent and identity, focusing on how social factors influence the perception and evolution of English varieties.
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References
1. William Labov — Principles of Linguistic Change (Vol. 1–3) — core theory for how sound change spreads and the social factors that drive it. wiley.com+1
2. Peter Trudgill — Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society — clear survey of sociolinguistic variables (class, gender, age, region) — great for framing social factors.
3. James Milroy — Linguistic Variation and Change: On the Historical Sociolinguistics of English — historical perspective on variation and methodology for English varieties.
Accent descriptions & regional phonetics
4. John C. Wells — Accents of English (Vols. 1 & 2) — authoritative descriptive account of major English accents (useful for comparative phonetic detail).
Sociophonetics & methods
5. Foulkes & Docherty — The social life of phonetics and phonology (review/article) — overview of sociophonetic approaches linking phonetics to social meaning and methods.
6. General works on sociophonetics and methods — look up recent edited volumes and special issues in Journal of Sociolinguistics or Language Variation and Change for acoustic methods and indexicality (useful for lab/measurement design).
