Debating Dialect

A collection of essays dealing with the fundamental issues in the study of dialect. This text offers critiques of orthodox views about dialect and dialectology, and as such is designed both to complement standard introductory volumes on dialectology and to refine understanding of the term "dialect". The main topics covered in the work are: the origins and meanings of standard English and its relationship with perceptions of dialect; the treatment of dialect in literature; the role of the dialectologist in descriptions of the accent of British English; Received Pronunciation; the history of dialectology; correspondences between dialectology and deconstruction; and the principle constructs of dialectology - the object of study and the dialectologist.