Mercedes Durham
Biographic Data
| ID | 240055 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mercedes Durham |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mercedes |
| FAMILY NAME | Durham |
| SIGNATURE | DURHAM M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Aberdeen |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9819-0687 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 89 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2006 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Possessive pronouns in Welsh
This paper examines possessive pronoun forms in Welsh, a feature thought to be undergoing change (Davies, 2016). First, we seek to add to the understanding about how and in which stylistic contexts these forms are used. Second, we examine whether students in Welsh-medium schools with different home language backgrounds show the same sociolinguistic competence. In contrast to what is prescribed in many grammar books, the colloquial form mam fi ‘my…
A cheeky investigation
The present study focuses on the word cheeky which, in the past few decades, has taken on a new meaning of ‘mildly illicit’ in addition to, and partly overtaking, its original meaning of ‘impudent’. We examine how this semantic change is spreading in different age groups and in different parts of the English-speaking world. As we demonstrate, the newer meaning of cheeky is associated with younger speakers, so we examine whether this correlates wi…
English as a Lingua Franca
This paper considers how the way that English is learned and used in Switzerland may affect the form it takes. Focussing particularly on features demonstrating sociolinguistic competence, it aims to present the different ways that English as a lingua franca speakers may, and may not, acquire the patterns found in native speakers. Although there is no way to predict which features will and will not be natively acquired, the paper demonstrates how …
Was/were alternation in Shetland English
Dialect use in Shetland's main town, Lerwick, demonstrates substantial interspeaker variability in the youngest generation, with some young speakers never using dialect features and some using them at rates similar to older generations. Such extreme interspeaker variability may be a harbinger of a complete shift to standardized varieties of English in subsequent generations as was suggested by Dorian in her research on Gaelic‐speaking communities…
The social and linguistic in the acquisition of sociolinguistic norms
Despite the assumption in early studies that children are monostylistic until sometime around adolescence, a number of studies since then have demonstrated that adult-like patterns of variation may be acquired much earlier. How \nmuch earlier, however, is still subject to some debate. In this paper we contribute to this research through an analysis of a number of lexical, phonological and \nmorphosyntactic variables across 29 caregiver/child pair…
Bidialectalism or Dialect Death? Explaining Generational Change in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
This article investigates the use of traditional dialect forms in a community in Shetland, northern Scotland. Specifically, we seek to establish whether the younger generations' patterns of language use signal rapid dialect obsolescence or bidialectalism. It compares recordings in which audience design is manipulated—the addressee is either an insider or an outsider—across a range of lexical, phonological, and morphosyntactic variables. Results s…
Right dislocation in Northern England
The process of right dislocation (RD) has long been recognized in English as a primarily vernacular feature available to speakers of all varieties, but concrete sociolinguistic discussion about its frequency of occurrence and which factors constrain its use are rare. Moreover, English has variants which repeat the operator either before or after the dislocated noun phrase (NP) or pronominal particle, e.g. She’s got a very good degree has Julie , …
A tipping point in dialect obsolescence? Change across the generations in Lerwick, Shetland1
The dialect spoken in the Shetland Islands is one of the most distinctive in the British Isles. However, there are claims that this variety is rapidly disappearing, with local forms replaced by more standard variants in the younger generations. In this paper we test these claims through a quantitative analysis of variable forms across three generations of speakers from the main town of Lerwick. We target six variables: two lexical, two morphosynt…
Universal and dialect-specific pathways of acquisition
T/d deletion is one of the most widely studied variables in sociolinguistic research, and findings demonstrate universal morphological and phonological constraints across a range of dialects. Research into the acquisition of this variable suggests that articulatory constraints are learned first, followed by grammatical, and finally stylistic and social constraints. Dialect-specific constraints are also found, implicating the caregiver in the proc…
Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List
This chapter examines the linguistic choices made by multilingual Swiss medical students on an asynchronous Internet discussion list. A quantitative analysis of language choice in over 1,000 messages sent to the list over a period of four calendar years shows that English was progressively adopted as the lingua franca by the French, German, and Italian native speaking members of the association, largely superceding the use of their native languag…
Mam, my trousers is fa'in doon!”
Recent work on acquisition in sociolinguistic research suggests that some aspects of the structured variation found in adult speech are evident in children's speech from the very start of language acquisition, and input from the primary caregiver is crucial in this process. In this article we contribute to this research by conducting a cross-sectional analysis of the acquisition of variable forms in a Scottish dialect. Two linguistic variables ar…
Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List
This paper examines how the language situation in Switzerland affects, and may be affected by, the choice of languages for Internet use within the country. It focuses primarily on language choices on a mailing list for members of a Pan-Swiss medical student organization. English has become the lingua franca, the preferred language of intra-Swiss communication, within this group. The use of English by list members is charted over four calendar yea…
Mam, my trousers is fa'in doon!”
Recent work on acquisition in sociolinguistic research suggests that some aspects of the structured variation found in adult speech are evident in children's speech from the very start of language acquisition, and input from the primary caregiver is crucial in this process. In this article we contribute to this research by conducting a cross-sectional analysis of the acquisition of variable forms in a Scottish dialect. Two linguistic variables ar…
Universal and dialect-specific pathways of acquisition
T/d deletion is one of the most widely studied variables in sociolinguistic research, and findings demonstrate universal morphological and phonological constraints across a range of dialects. Research into the acquisition of this variable suggests that articulatory constraints are learned first, followed by grammatical, and finally stylistic and social constraints. Dialect-specific constraints are also found, implicating the caregiver in the proc…
The social and linguistic in the acquisition of sociolinguistic norms
Despite the assumption in early studies that children are monostylistic until sometime around adolescence, a number of studies since then have demonstrated that adult-like patterns of variation may be acquired much earlier. How \nmuch earlier, however, is still subject to some debate. In this paper we contribute to this research through an analysis of a number of lexical, phonological and \nmorphosyntactic variables across 29 caregiver/child pair…
A tipping point in dialect obsolescence? Change across the generations in Lerwick, Shetland1
The dialect spoken in the Shetland Islands is one of the most distinctive in the British Isles. However, there are claims that this variety is rapidly disappearing, with local forms replaced by more standard variants in the younger generations. In this paper we test these claims through a quantitative analysis of variable forms across three generations of speakers from the main town of Lerwick. We target six variables: two lexical, two morphosynt…
Bidialectalism or Dialect Death? Explaining Generational Change in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
This article investigates the use of traditional dialect forms in a community in Shetland, northern Scotland. Specifically, we seek to establish whether the younger generations' patterns of language use signal rapid dialect obsolescence or bidialectalism. It compares recordings in which audience design is manipulated—the addressee is either an insider or an outsider—across a range of lexical, phonological, and morphosyntactic variables. Results s…
Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List
This paper examines how the language situation in Switzerland affects, and may be affected by, the choice of languages for Internet use within the country. It focuses primarily on language choices on a mailing list for members of a Pan-Swiss medical student organization. English has become the lingua franca, the preferred language of intra-Swiss communication, within this group. The use of English by list members is charted over four calendar yea…
Was/were alternation in Shetland English
Dialect use in Shetland's main town, Lerwick, demonstrates substantial interspeaker variability in the youngest generation, with some young speakers never using dialect features and some using them at rates similar to older generations. Such extreme interspeaker variability may be a harbinger of a complete shift to standardized varieties of English in subsequent generations as was suggested by Dorian in her research on Gaelic‐speaking communities…
Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List
This paper examines how the language situation in Switzerland affects, and may be affected by, the choice of languages for Internet use within the country. It focuses primarily on language choices on a mailing list for members of a Pan-Swiss medical student organization. English has become the lingua franca, the preferred language of intra-Swiss communication, within this group. The use of English by list members is charted over four calendar yea…
Language Choice on a Swiss Mailing List
This chapter examines the linguistic choices made by multilingual Swiss medical students on an asynchronous Internet discussion list. A quantitative analysis of language choice in over 1,000 messages sent to the list over a period of four calendar years shows that English was progressively adopted as the lingua franca by the French, German, and Italian native speaking members of the association, largely superceding the use of their native languag…
Mam, my trousers is fa'in doon!”
Recent work on acquisition in sociolinguistic research suggests that some aspects of the structured variation found in adult speech are evident in children's speech from the very start of language acquisition, and input from the primary caregiver is crucial in this process. In this article we contribute to this research by conducting a cross-sectional analysis of the acquisition of variable forms in a Scottish dialect. Two linguistic variables ar…
Universal and dialect-specific pathways of acquisition
T/d deletion is one of the most widely studied variables in sociolinguistic research, and findings demonstrate universal morphological and phonological constraints across a range of dialects. Research into the acquisition of this variable suggests that articulatory constraints are learned first, followed by grammatical, and finally stylistic and social constraints. Dialect-specific constraints are also found, implicating the caregiver in the proc…
Right dislocation in Northern England
The process of right dislocation (RD) has long been recognized in English as a primarily vernacular feature available to speakers of all varieties, but concrete sociolinguistic discussion about its frequency of occurrence and which factors constrain its use are rare. Moreover, English has variants which repeat the operator either before or after the dislocated noun phrase (NP) or pronominal particle, e.g. She’s got a very good degree has Julie , …
A tipping point in dialect obsolescence? Change across the generations in Lerwick, Shetland1
The dialect spoken in the Shetland Islands is one of the most distinctive in the British Isles. However, there are claims that this variety is rapidly disappearing, with local forms replaced by more standard variants in the younger generations. In this paper we test these claims through a quantitative analysis of variable forms across three generations of speakers from the main town of Lerwick. We target six variables: two lexical, two morphosynt…
Bidialectalism or Dialect Death? Explaining Generational Change in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
This article investigates the use of traditional dialect forms in a community in Shetland, northern Scotland. Specifically, we seek to establish whether the younger generations' patterns of language use signal rapid dialect obsolescence or bidialectalism. It compares recordings in which audience design is manipulated—the addressee is either an insider or an outsider—across a range of lexical, phonological, and morphosyntactic variables. Results s…
Was/were alternation in Shetland English
Dialect use in Shetland's main town, Lerwick, demonstrates substantial interspeaker variability in the youngest generation, with some young speakers never using dialect features and some using them at rates similar to older generations. Such extreme interspeaker variability may be a harbinger of a complete shift to standardized varieties of English in subsequent generations as was suggested by Dorian in her research on Gaelic‐speaking communities…
The social and linguistic in the acquisition of sociolinguistic norms
Despite the assumption in early studies that children are monostylistic until sometime around adolescence, a number of studies since then have demonstrated that adult-like patterns of variation may be acquired much earlier. How \nmuch earlier, however, is still subject to some debate. In this paper we contribute to this research through an analysis of a number of lexical, phonological and \nmorphosyntactic variables across 29 caregiver/child pair…
English as a Lingua Franca
This paper considers how the way that English is learned and used in Switzerland may affect the form it takes. Focussing particularly on features demonstrating sociolinguistic competence, it aims to present the different ways that English as a lingua franca speakers may, and may not, acquire the patterns found in native speakers. Although there is no way to predict which features will and will not be natively acquired, the paper demonstrates how …
A cheeky investigation
The present study focuses on the word cheeky which, in the past few decades, has taken on a new meaning of ‘mildly illicit’ in addition to, and partly overtaking, its original meaning of ‘impudent’. We examine how this semantic change is spreading in different age groups and in different parts of the English-speaking world. As we demonstrate, the newer meaning of cheeky is associated with younger speakers, so we examine whether this correlates wi…
Possessive pronouns in Welsh
This paper examines possessive pronoun forms in Welsh, a feature thought to be undergoing change (Davies, 2016). First, we seek to add to the understanding about how and in which stylistic contexts these forms are used. Second, we examine whether students in Welsh-medium schools with different home language backgrounds show the same sociolinguistic competence. In contrast to what is prescribed in many grammar books, the colloquial form mam fi ‘my…
Linguistics (12 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (11 works) · Psychology (7 works) · Sociology (7 works) · History (6 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Phonetics and Phonology Research (5 works) · Geography (4 works) · History (4 works)