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Reading Working Papers in Linguistics 4 (2000) - The University of ...

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SOCIAL NETWORKS IN A RURAL SETTING<br />

language variation is not random, but rather strictly controlled, <strong>of</strong>ten by extral<strong>in</strong>guistic<br />

factors, and the specification <strong>of</strong> these factors may help us account for<br />

change (McMahon 1994: 226).<br />

<strong>The</strong> purpose <strong>of</strong> this study is to discover more about these very extra-l<strong>in</strong>guistic<br />

factors. What is <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g is which <strong>in</strong>dividuals are more ‘resistant’ to change<br />

than others, ignor<strong>in</strong>g age and sex grad<strong>in</strong>g. This has become the central focus<br />

<strong>of</strong> the Doric study: to expla<strong>in</strong> which social ‘mechanisms’ predict language<br />

change, at least <strong>in</strong> rural speech communities.<br />

3. Topic Selection<br />

<strong>The</strong> selection <strong>of</strong> the topic came about as a reaction to the abundance <strong>of</strong> studies<br />

<strong>of</strong> l<strong>in</strong>guistic change and the social mechanisms <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> the diffusion <strong>of</strong><br />

change. <strong>The</strong> dialect <strong>in</strong> question, known locally as ‘the Doric’, is spoken (with<br />

slight variation) throughout the north-east <strong>of</strong> Scotland <strong>in</strong> Aberdeenshire, and<br />

here the town <strong>of</strong> Huntly has been the focus (see map below).<br />

<strong>The</strong> location may be regarded as a relic area for l<strong>in</strong>guistic purposes, as<br />

will become obvious from the data. Until recently, the speech <strong>of</strong> the area was<br />

rather conservative, and now that change is tak<strong>in</strong>g place rather rapidly, the<br />

community has been s<strong>in</strong>gled out for sociol<strong>in</strong>guistic study. Improved transport<br />

l<strong>in</strong>ks and <strong>in</strong>creased geographical mobility have also meant that local villagers<br />

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