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This paper is an attempt to assess the representation of non-standard dialect in nineteenth-century speech communities as created and described in two works of fiction by the same writer: Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South (1855) and Wives and Daughters (1866). The reasons for choosing these particular works are various: they exhibit a wider range of society than most other contemporary novels; they should reflect regional/nonstandard usage not too distant in time from the authentic speech documented by the Survey of English Dialects (SED) (Orton et al., 1962-71); their author is generally acknowledged to be a keen observer and known to be conversant with various layers of society (Uglow, 1993:47f.). Her linguistic reliability was recognized by Joseph Wright in that he used two of her novels (Mary Barton and Sylvia’s Lovers), exemplifying two different dialect areas, as data for specimens in his monumental English Dialect Dictionary (EDD). This was an honour bestowed on comparatively few writers of fiction. In Gaskell’s case we are also greatly helped by her own comments on language in letters as well as her literary texts. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that great caution should be taken in interpreting patterns of social/ regional variation based on data from a work of fiction. The author may, for one thing, have had a particular purpose in using nonstandard features, which could be a distractor in the representation of authentic speech.

Rajend Mesthrie and Rakesh M. Bhatt. World Englishes. The Study of New Linguistic Varieties.

This four-volume publication is the second version, envisaged already at the planning of the project, of the monumental overview of World Englishes, first launched in 2004 as the two-volume Handbook of Varieties of English. The individual contributions, each covering the phonology or morphosyntax of a specific variety, are by and large identical in the 2004 and 2008 versions, but the overall structure is different: the more recent, ‘derived’ version is organized according to region, whereas the two 2004 volumes focused on worldwide phonology and morphosyntax respectively. Admittedly, the new version retains the same organization to a degree, in that each regional volume first features the phonology of all its varieties and then morphosyntax. In my view, this is a pity, as a coherent presentation of a variety would clearly have been more reader-friendly, but it would presumably have required a considerable amount of re-editing.

As its title suggests, this book is characterised by extraordinary ambition. Its aim is not only to provide a framework for lexical variation and transfer in World Englishes (a sadly neglected topi...

This eclectic collection, which sheds light on the emergence, variation and development of East Anglian English, is a most welcome contribution to the knowledge of ‘alternative histories of English...

The use of a pulmonic ingressive airstream mechanism in the pronunciation of certain discourse particles, typically variants of “yes” and “no,” is a well‐known and salient feature of Scandinavian languages. It has been suggested, however, that this may be a more general North Atlantic phenomenon—occurring as far west as Newfoundland and New England—which spread via migration and trade routes. Unfortunately, there seem to be very few audio recordings available from areas other than Scandinavia and Newfoundland (perhaps partly attributable to various elicitation difficulties) and very little acoustic analysis has been presented [E. Thom, MA thesis, UCL (2005); R. Eklund, J. Int. Phonetic Assoc. 38, 235–325 (2008)]. This paper contains a study of ingressive discourse particles in the Shetland Islands, which have strong historical links to Scandinavia. A significant number of ingressives were found in field recordings from 1980–1982. This paper presents an acoustic pilot study of ingressive discourse particles, focusing on issues such as formant structure and voicing/phonation characteristics. A comparison is also made with previous analyses [E. Thom, MA thesis, UCL (2005); R. Eklund, J. Int. Phonetic Assoc. 38, 235–325 (2008)] as well as audio samples from other localities within the North Atlantic region.

Review of S. Johansson and A. L. Graedler, 'Rocka, hipt og snacksy. Om engelsk i norsk sprak og samfunn'.

An important aspect of the increasing dominance of English in the "expanding circle" is its effect on other languages. The influence of English on other languages has given rise to much heated debate. What happens to other languages if English comes to dominate the linguistic scene? English has spread into and partly taken over domains such as popular music and entertainment, fashion, sports, advertising and trade. Massive borrowing has taken place on all levels of languge. The rise of English has resulted in a concern with issues such as the loss of particular domains and the maintenance and preservation of the domestic language. As one contributor to this volume suggests with regard to the language situation in the Scandinavian countries, "language death in Scandinavia should by no means be ruled out" (Gottlieb).