Article - How Are Dialects Changing?

Just What is 'Bidialectalism', and Just How Does it Affect You?

A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of the language's speakers. This includes the usage of slang and the accent with which the speaker talks. Dialects are often regional, however, there are also dialects specific to certain social circles called a 'sociolect'. Another type of dialect is the form of a language spoken by a particular ethnic group in the language, this is an 'ethnolect'.

Everybody, despite what they might believe, is part of a dialect. Be it regional, social or ethnic, everybody can relate to being part of a dialect. As such, it is easy for everybody to relate to the idea of a set dialect that can be easily noticed or recognised. Some people may find solace in being part of such a distinguished group of people, so it may alarm them that dialects are changing over time. Don't believe me? I don't blame you, it seems almost hard to believe that something as well established as say, the cockney dialect, could be changing over time. Linguists (those who study language) have noticed this, and there are many examples and theories to explain this change.

One explanation of such a change is the existence of 'bidialectalism', the ability to speak with two accents or dialects. Researchers have found this transient dialectal tendency to be most prominent among the middle classes, who often mingle with wide ranges of people and backgrounds, and are effectively influenced by those they live around. For example, growing up in London, and then moving to Newcastle has been known to cause people to fuse the two accents, creating a hybrid, or speak the two entirely separately.

Researchers at the University of Newcastle have come to the conclusion that bidialectalism is almost always performed by the subconscious part of the brain. They say that this is due to the subconscious desire to adapt to your surroundings whenever you are put into a new environment. As such, if you pay attention, you may find yourself changing your accent slightly when talking to people from other regions, with other dialects.

This even occurs to me! When visiting my mother's family in the northern-midlands, I find myself adding slight aspects of their regional accent into my own. This has resulted, for me, in a rather neutral dialect, which is neither here-nor-there. However, researchers say that bidialectalism is a phenomenon mostly reserved for the middle-class. They say this not due to some biological difference between the classes, but do back it up rather convincingly. They say that the upper classes are less likely to experience this due to the fact that they, for the most part, do not possess particularly noticeable regional accents, instead choosing to speak a variety of received pronunciation. They say that people in the working class generally possess stronger regional accents, and as they are less likely to move around the country, they are usually surrounded by people with the same dialect as them, causing no need to change.

The research these linguists are conducting has even reached the point where they feel able to 'forecast' the future potential changes in certain dialects. For example, Dr. Hall of the University of Newcastle believes that within the next 30 years, the North-East accent very well may have become a part of a general 'Northern' accent. This is what is known as 'Dialectal Dilution'.

That said, I see nothing to worry about when it comes to bidialectalism. Everything evolves and changes over time, mostly for the better, so why should language and dialect be any different? I for one, look forward to seeing how both my own, and general dialects change in the years to come.