The importance of folk-linguistic approaches in the study of dialectal phenomena

Authors

  • Cameron Morin Department of English, Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay, France Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2018/09/0020/000353

Keywords:

folk-linguistics, dialectology, judgment data, questionnaire, modality

Abstract

As the traditional distinction between the studies of linguistic competence and performance (Chomsky 1965) seems increasingly outdated, so the separation between theory and practice in the subdisciplines of linguistics is equally undesirable—especially in the field of dialectology. As an illustration of this, this paper aims to present the virtues of an alternative, underutilized approach: folk linguistics (Niedzielski & Preston 2010). This is demonstrated through a questionnaire designed for judgment data elicitation regarding the various implications surrounding double modals (DM) in Borders Scots. By detailing the methodology and results of this questionnaire, which was carried out in January 2018, it will be shown that many dialectal phenomena in English, including multiple modality (MM), absolutely require such sources of evidence to reach a convincing state of analysis.

References

Bour, A. 2014. *Description of Multiple Modality in Contemporary Scotland: Double and Triple Modals in the Scottish Borders*. PhD dissertation, University of Freiburg.

Brown, K. 1991. Double modals in Hawick Scots. In P. Trudgill & J.K. Chambers (eds.), *Dialects of English: Studies in Grammatical Variation*, 74-103. London: Longman.

Chomsky, N. 1965. *Aspects of the Theory of Syntax*. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hoenigswald, H. 1966. A proposal for the study of folk-linguistics. In W. Bright (ed.), *Sociolinguistics: Proceedings of the UCLA Sociolinguistics Conference, 1964*, 16–26. The Hague: Mouton.

Johnstone, B. 1999. *Qualitative Methods in Sociolinguistics*. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Morin, C. 2018. *Questionnaire for eliciting judgment data on the recognition and usage of double modals in Hawick (Scotland)* (TulQuest). Paris: CNRS.

Niedzielski, N.A., & Preston, D. 2010. *Folk Linguistics*. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

Silverstein, M. 1981. The limits of awareness. *Sociolinguistic Working Papers*, 84. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

Sinclair, J. 1996. *EAGLES: Preliminary recommendations on Corpus Typology* (EAGLES Document EAG-TCWG-CTYP/P). Pisa: Istituto di Linguistica Computazionale.

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Published

01-01-2018

How to Cite

The importance of folk-linguistic approaches in the study of dialectal phenomena. (2018). Linguistic Proceedings Series, 9(1), 55-60. https://doi.org/10.36505/ExLing-2018/09/0020/000353

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