A New Accent, Political Boundaries and Accents,

Tristan McLeay scripsit:

> Anyway, I'm just wondering. How much of an influence do political
> boundaries have on accents/dialects? Am I making more of it than it
> really is?
Usually very little: the Canadian accent extends right over the
political boundary, as does the Border Scots accent.  But when
the border divides two separate standard languages, it can have
second-order effects.

There is a chain of mutually intelligible local dialects that
stretches from Paris to Rome, such that someone near the border can
probably manage to converse with neighbors across it.  But talking
is one thing, and writing a letter is another.  The upmarket
constructions imported into each local dialect will come from very
different sources as well.

--
John Cowan <jcowan@...>     http://www.reutershealth.com
I amar prestar aen, han mathon ne nen,    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
han mathon ne chae, a han noston ne 'wilith.  --Galadriel, _LOTR:FOTR_

Reply