Language in the British Isles

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the dominant languages and dialects used in the British Isles.

David Britain (Edited by)

9780521791502, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 23 August 2007

524 pages, 7 b/w illus. 4 maps 17 tables
23.5 x 15.9 x 3.6 cm, 0.952 kg

The British Isles are home to a vast range of different spoken and signed languages and dialects. Language continues to evolve rapidly, in its diversity, in the number and the backgrounds of its speakers, and in the repercussions it has had for political and educational affairs. This book provides a comprehensive survey of the dominant languages and dialects used in the British Isles. Topics covered include the history of English; the relationship between Standard and Non-Standard Englishes; the major non-standard varieties spoken on the islands; and the history of multilingualism; and the educational and planning implications of linguistic diversity in the British Isles. Among the many dialects and languages surveyed by the volume are British Black English, Celtic languages, Chinese, Indian, European migrant languages, British Sign Language, and Anglo-Romani. Clear and accessible in its approach, it will be welcomed by students in sociolinguistics, English language, and dialectology, as well as anyone interested more generally in language within British society.

Introduction David Britain
Part I. English: 1. History of English James Milroy
2. Standard and non-standard English Paul Kerswill
3. Phonological variation in England Paul Foulkes and Gerard Docherty
4. Grammatical variation in England David Britain
5. Scottish English and Scots Paul Johnston
6. Northern Irish English Kevin McCafferty
7. Southern Irish English Raymond Hickey
8. English in Wales Robert Penhallurick
9. English on the Isle of Man Andrew Hamer
10. English in the Channel Islands Heinrich Ramisch
Part II. The Celtic Languages: 11. The history of the Celtic languages in the British Isles Paul Russell
12. Gaelic Kenneth MacKinnon
13. Irish Pádraig Ó Riagáin
14. Welsh Martin Ball
Part III. Other Languages of the British Isles: 15. Multilingualism Mark Gibson
16. Caribbean creoles and Black English Mark Sebba
17. Indic languages Mike Reynolds and Mahendra Verma
18. Chinese Li Wei
19. European immigrant languages Penelope Gardner-Chloros
20. Sign languages Bencie Woll and Rachel Sutton-Spence
21. Channel Island French Mari Jones
22. Angloromani Peter Bakker and Donald Kenrick
Part IV. Applied Sociolinguistic Issues: 23. Language policy and planning Dennis Ager
24. Non-standard English and education Ann Williams
25. Education and languages other than English Ben Rampton, Roxy Harris and Constant Leung.

Subject Areas: Bilingualism & multilingualism [CFDM], Sociolinguistics [CFB], Linguistics [CF]