Dialect Writing and the North of England

Investigates how dialect variation is represented in writing
* Analyses examples from 18th century literary texts through to 21st century texting* Draws on a range of sources including diaries, blogs, poetry, direct speech in fiction and cartoons in local newspapers* Considers the cultural positioning and impact of dialect writing and investigates the mechanics of how authors produce dialect writing

Analysing examples from 18th century literary texts through to 21st century social media, this is the first comprehensive collection to explore dialect writing in the North of England. The book also considers broad questions about dialect writing in general: What is it? Who does it? What types of dialect writing exist? How can linguists interpret it?

Bringing together a wide range of contributors, the book investigates everything from the cultural positioning and impact of dialect writing to the mechanics of how authors produce dialect spellings (and what this can tell us about the structure of the dialects represented). The book features a number of case studies, focusing on dialect writing from all over the North of England, considering a wide range of types of text, including dialect poetry, translations into dialect, letters, tweets, direct speech in novels, humorous localised volumes, written reports of conversations and cartoons in local newspapers.