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Norms and Conventions in the History of English
Edited by Birte Bös and Claudia Claridge
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 347] 2019
► pp. 191–212

Studying dialect spelling in its own right

Suggestions from a case study

This paper addresses the question of why historical linguistics should be interested in studying dialect spelling in its own right. It deduces a number of arguments in favour of that interest from a case study of the graphical representation of Ulster Scots in the past and present. Referring to a selection of findings from that case study and relating them to central issues of written language, the paper calls for a greater interest in the general structure and the historical development of vernacular written representations. Accordingly, it sketches a systematic framework and suggests basic research questions in support of diachronic (and synchronic) studies of what the paper delineates as “dialect graphy”.
Keywords: dialect graphy, spelling conventions, written and spoken dialect, dialect (il)literacy, Ulster Scots
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Concepts and terminology
    • 2.1Written language and spelling
    • 2.2Spelling conventions
    • 2.3Implications
  • 3.A case study of Ulster Scots
    • 3.1Why Ulster Scots?
    • 3.2Data and methodology
    • 3.3Findings
      • Feature A-(i)
      • Feature B-(ii)
      • Feature B-(i)
      • Feature A-(v)-(b)
      • Feature D-(ii)
    • 3.4Interim conclusions: The history of Ulster-Scots spelling
  • 4.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 27 May 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.347.10wol
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