The Dialects of England [first edition]

Do you know any nice lasses, maidens, wenches or mawthers, or are they all just plain girls to you? Do your shoes include pumps, daps, plimsolls, gollies and sandshoes, or do you settle for ordinary trainers instead? If you think Geordies would do better to speak like BBC announcers, if you think the Queen's English is the only English there is, then this book is not for you. "The Dialects of England" celebrates the rich variety of the regional and social dialects of Engish in all its forms, ancient and modern. It covers Zummerzet and Scouse, Cockney and Cumberland, Brummie and Berkshire, Nottingham and Norfolk. It deplores the trend towards linguistic uniformity urged on us by the self-appointed guardians of the purity of the English language. English dialects are the result of 1500 years of linguistic and cultural development. Written in non-technical language, this book outlines their history and their geography. It describes the diversity of vocabulary, accent, grammar and literature to be found among the dialects of England.