Language variation and identity in Sunderland

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation reports a study of language variation and identity conducted in Sunderland. The City of Sunderland, in North-east England, is situated about 15 miles to the south of Newcastle. As a result of this proximity to the dominant urban centre in the region, Sunderland people are often identified by outsiders as 'Geordies' and their dialect as 'Geordie'. Even existing accounts of dialect variation in Northeast England have often subsumed Wearside into Tyneside. Such representations of Sunderland, its people and dialect, however, are rather problematic given the deeply-rooted rivalry that exists between the inhabitants of the two localities, which have led to a clear divide between Newcastle and Sunderland in terms of identity. Moreover, folk-linguistic evidence also appears to point to the existence of a linguistic 'divide' as well.

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