Vocabulary Change: A Study of Variation in Regional Words in Eight of the Southern States - Hardcover

Bridging the gap between Hans Kurath’s A Word Geography of the Eastern United States and E. Bagby Atwood’s The Regional Vocabulary of Texas, this study examines word usage and its changing patterns, past and present, in eight of the Southern states. The area encompasses Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. The data collected were systematically recorded and analyzed by computer, and the results have been presented in maps, tables, and lists of word frequencies. In addition, the study describes and defines the salient traits of the Southern dialect of American English, and shows that they are far more national and far more complex than anyone had suspected.

The book’s immediate audience is that body of scholars interested in dialectology, sociolinguistics, and cultural differences. However, it will be of great value also to general readers and students interested in the history of the language.