Multicultural London English: the emergence, acquisition and diffusion of a new variety

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London has long been considered by linguists as a motor of change in the English language in Britain. The investigators’ ESRC-funded studies from the early 90s to 2007 show that, while there is widespread ‘levelling’ in the south-east, leading to greater uniformity in accent and grammar, there are new, largely minority ethnic-based changes emerging in inner-city London. The present project investigates whether and how young children acquire these new features, how they are maintained or accentuated in adolescence, and whether they are maintained in adulthood. If they are, this will have consequences for the development of spoken English in Britain. The research asks: Are there different ‘ethnic’ Englishes in London, or is the new variety, dubbed ‘Multicultural London English’ (MLE), relatively uniform across ethnicities, including ‘Anglos’? Do Londoners change their speech across the lifespan? What features enter into MLE, and which don’t? Do Londoners detect any ethnic affiliation for the features? Are there rhythmic differences in the speech of Londoners? The project will record, mainly in pairs, at least 112 people from the northern inner city, ages ranging from 4 to 40 and the ethnic balance reflecting the local population. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses will be performed.

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From London Jamaican to British youth language : the transformation of a Caribbean post-creole repertoire into a new multicultural London English

Author: Paul Kerswill Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 Conference paper/presentation

Page 1 of 2

Start date: Sunday, September 30, 2007
End date: Friday, December 31, 2010
Grant holder: Professor Paul Kerswill
Co-applicants: Professor Jennifer Cheshire
Grant amount: $600,547.04
Grant reference: RES-062-23-0814
Discipline: Linguistics (General); Linguistics
Grant type

Sep	OCT	Nov
	21
2017	2018	2019

Economic and Social Research Council
Shaping Society

Multiethnolects and English Corpus Linguistics

Linguistic innovation and change in multilingual urban contexts

Adolescents as linguistic innovators : dialect contact and language contact in present-day London

Linguistic innovation and change in multilingual urban contexts

Language contact and language change in European cities

Variation and change in quotative verbs in London English

Shifting identities : children of immigrants in modern urban settings

From London Jamaican to British youth language : the transformation of a Caribbean post-creole repertoire into a new multicultural London English

How data from sociolinguistic studies can be used in materials for schools and colleges

What can we glean about language variation from a sociolinguistic interview?

Supralocalisation equals deracination; innovation equals striking new roots

Contact, the feature pool and the speech community : the emergence of multicultural London English

A study of rhythm in London : is syllable-timing a feature of multicultural London English?

Youth languages in Africa and Europe : linguistic subversion or emerging vernaculars?

Multicultural London English

Mind your slanguage

Contact, the feature pool and the speech community : the emergence of multicultural London English

Contact, the feature pool and the speech community : the emergence of multicultural London English

A study of rhythm in London : is syllable-timing a feature of multicultural London English?

The English slanguage

Supralocalisation equals deracination : innovation equals striking new roots

Multikulturell engelsk i London - framvekst, tilegnelse og spredning av en ny varietet

The African diaspora and London English

Where are English accents heading? : the familiar – and the strange

Multiracial vernacular in London : age-grading or language change?

Economic and Social Research Council Shaping Society

Multicultural London English: the emergence, acquisition and diffusion of a new variety

Multiethnolects and English Corpus Linguistics

Linguistic innovation and change in multilingual urban contexts

Adolescents as linguistic innovators : dialect contact and language contact in present-day London

Linguistic innovation and change in multilingual urban contexts

Language contact and language change in European cities

Variation and change in quotative verbs in London English

Shifting identities : children of immigrants in modern urban settings

From London Jamaican to British youth language : the transformation of a Caribbean post-creole repertoire into a new multicultural London English

How data from sociolinguistic studies can be used in materials for schools and colleges

What can we glean about language variation from a sociolinguistic interview?

Supralocalisation equals deracination; innovation equals striking new roots

Contact, the feature pool and the speech community : the emergence of multicultural London English

A study of rhythm in London : is syllable-timing a feature of multicultural London English?

Youth languages in Africa and Europe : linguistic subversion or emerging vernaculars?

Multicultural London English

Mind your slanguage

Contact, the feature pool and the speech community : the emergence of multicultural London English

Contact, the feature pool and the speech community : the emergence of multicultural London English

A study of rhythm in London : is syllable-timing a feature of multicultural London English?

The English slanguage

Supralocalisation equals deracination : innovation equals striking new roots

Multikulturell engelsk i London - framvekst, tilegnelse og spredning av en ny varietet

The African diaspora and London English

Where are English accents heading? : the familiar – and the strange

Multiracial vernacular in London : age-grading or language change?

Economic and Social Research Council
Shaping Society