Synopses & Reviews
The New Cockney provides a sociolinguistic account of speech variation among adolescents in the 'traditional' East End of London. The study takes account of the social and economic upheaval in the area since the 1950s, primarily concentrating on factors such as the immigration of the Bangladeshi community and its effect on the Cockney dialect. By paying attention to the particular, this book contributes to a better understanding of the more general concerns of linguistic variation. With a focus on the interaction and social practices of a group of adolescents attending a youth centre, the study highlights some of the possible mechanisms for language change.
About the Author
Susan Fox is a Researcher in Linguistics at Queen Mary, University of London, UK. She specialises in variationist sociolinguistics, and is principally interested in language variation and change, using both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis. Her research work has focused mainly on the social and historical contexts that have led to the variety of English that is spoken in London today.
Table of Contents
Introduction
1.The Social and Historical Context
2.Methodological Issues
3.The PRICE Variable
4.The FACE Variable5.Allomorphic Variation in the English Article System
6.The Qualitative Analysis
7. The 'New' Cockney
Conclusion