The multivocality of heritage – moments, encounters and mobilities

Abstract

This chapter considers attitudes to, and uses of, regional dialect in places that have been affected by superdiversity: the UK, the USA and France. Regional dialects reflect earlier diversities, but are perceived as threatened by superdiversity. The first section provides a historical overview of attitudes to dialectal diversity in Britain, and more specifically in England. The second section of this chapter sets out the theoretical approaches most appropriate for investigating the relationship between regional dialect and heritage: indexicality, enregisterment and commodification. These all consider the ways in which forms of language come to be associated with specific qualities such as authenticity and consequently acquire a market value. The chapter then goes on to present case-studies involving the commodification of dialect in the context of tourism and heritage. These illustrate the ways in which regional dialects have been re-evaluated in recent years in the wake of superdiversity. The final section deals more specifically with the museum sector’s incorporation of dialect into its interpretation of heritage, and the ways in which sociolinguists have collaborated with museum and heritage professionals in these projects.

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