Models of linguistic change and diffusion: new evidence from dialect levelling in British English *

Abstract

Abstract. The levelling of accents/dialects has been something of a ‘given ’ in recent accounts of change in the spoken English of Britain. However, the very recent availability of a larger number of studies presents us with the opportunity to examine the mechanism behind this ‘levelling ’ with a new degree of precision. The present paper brings together data from this body of research in an exploration, particularly, of the distinction between levelling and geographical diffusion in accounting for changes in vernacular speech. I argue that, while both processes assume dialect contact, levelling (as a direct result of mutual accommodation between speakers) is only possible as a process in its own right in relatively compact geographical areas, such as new towns. In other cases, levelling outcomes (on a much larger geographical scale) can best be explained as an epiphenomenon of geographical diffusion (a position taken by Trudgill). I suggest that the phrase regional dialect levelling should be applied to this wider geographical outcome, reserving the unqualified levelling for the outcome of the social psychological process of accommodation. This exploration invites us to look more closely at the distinction between regular (Neogrammarian) change and lexical diffusion, as discussed by Labov (1981). Preliminary conclusions are that phonetic gradualness as a characteristic of regular change cannot be upheld, and that there is no strong connection between change type and mechanism of spread, despite the presence of similar notions of diffusion on each side of the comparison.

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