Dialect Levelling

A dialect is a form of language that is spoken among a specific group or in a particular region. To level is to make something equal or similar. With this understanding, what do you think dialect levelling is?

Fig. 1 - Dialect levelling involves minimising or reducing one's dialectal features.

Dialect levelling definition

The definition of dialect levelling is the process by which the differences and variations between certain dialects are reduced or eliminated over time.

Reasons for dialect levelling

Dialect levelling occurs through the mixing of different cultures, typically through migration and other forms of interaction over a long period of time. As a result, the unique features of dialects are often lost. It seems to occur most frequently in languages following the industrialisation and modernisation of the areas where they are spoken.

Dialect levelling can occur over several generations, merging two or more dialects into one compromised dialect and typically erasing individual regional features. The dialects experience standardisation, eliminating the distinctiveness of each dialect and establishing a singular mainstream dialect.

As it unfolds over time, dialect levelling results in the dialects and speech varieties of various parts of a country becoming increasingly similar. It is the process of reducing language diversity.

Fig. 2 - Dialects can emerge over several generations and so can dialect levelling.

Causes of dialect levelling

What are the causes of dialect levelling? According to Gerard Van Herk, researchers in New Zealand concluded there is a three-stage process to dialect levelling:

1. The 1st generation of immigrants maintains its dialect.

2. The 2nd generation picks language from the linguistic options available where they live.

3. The 3rd generation levels out any difference, opting for the most popular variant of language.

Dialect levelling and social interaction

How does social interaction lead to dialect levelling?

• Increasing geographical mobility makes increasing interaction between speakers of different dialects possible as migrants settle in different communities.

• Social mobility also means interaction between members of different social classes with different dialects. Oftentimes, lower classes attempting to assimilate with higher classes feel pressure to minimise any differences between their own dialect and the dialect of those from the higher class.

• Adolescents often adopt language affectations from their peer group in shared spaces such as school or extracurricular clubs, rather than from their parents.

Regional dialect levelling

Dialect levelling happens in different ways and for different reasons depending on location. In this section, we'll focus on regional dialect levelling in Britain.

Dialects in Britain

Dialects in Britain reflect social class and geographical location, among other things. There are many examples of dialects and dialect levelling in Britain. Consider how someone in the North might pronounce the word 'gutter' as 'gooh-tah' versus how a London youth might pronounce it as 'gu-ah', replacing the 't' with a glottal stop. Or consider how some Britons would say 'isn't', some would say 'ain't' and some would say 'in't'.

To give a past example of dialect levelling, take the evolution of the London dialect that occurred following the arrival of immigrants from the north of England in the fifteenth century. Their dialect evolved into more southern speech varieties.

Reasons for dialect levelling in Britain

Research points to a number of reasons for dialect levelling in Britain. Here are some possible reasons for it:

• Economic change led to industrialisation and modernisation. Britons were no longer working in rural employment, and so they moved to other parts of the country.

• World Wars meant soldiers, all with different British dialects, were forced into close proximity with each other. This obviously led to the merging and intermingling of individual dialects.

• The popularity of media, TV and radio to be specific, may have contributed to the prevalence of southern accents in the North. This is because popular media typically broadcast from the south, London in particular.

Fig. 3 - Technology and industry are significant factors that influence dialect levelling,

The future of the dialect

The English language is a rich and ever-evolving phenomenon that can be used in many diverse and interesting ways. Does dialect levelling threaten the future of dialects?

Dialect levelling and the future

There are some negatives to dialect levelling. Primarily, the erasure of the uniqueness of individuality of dialects. It means certain cultural quirks are now lost forever.

However, dialect levelling is a result of increased human interaction between speakers of different classes/ locations. This is surely a good thing, as it must mean society is becoming more integrated, sharing an increasingly uniform dialect.

Furthermore, it is unclear whether dialect levelling will eventually cause the erasure of dialects altogether. There is such a wide variety of dialects that it seems impossible. As immigration continues, it seems likely that groups will strive to maintain the unique qualities of their individual dialects. For this reason, dialect levelling can never truly erase different dialects. There will always be individual communities that will preserve their linguistic culture.