Abstract

This research describes the synchronic use of prepositions of source during
dialectal speech in the adjoining northern towns of Halifax and Huddersfield. It
compares two linguistic variables: the standard preposition of source from and
the nonstandard variant off, to determine the patterns and origins of their use.
A social approach to language analysis has been assumed to demonstrate how
social factors can influence linguistic behaviour.
Two speech modes were observed during informal, sociolinguistic interviews.
Initially, spontaneous speech was targeted during discussions around individual
leisure activities, in the first Covid-19 lockdown. Following this, a reading task
was provided to the respondents. This comprised ten basic sentences, each
without a preposition. The participants were asked to read out each sentence
and include a preposition of their choice.
On completion of the data collection, a quantitative analysis of the preposition
categories was undertaken. The inter-speaker variation was examined in
relation to the variables of age, gender, social network structure, occupation and
location. Also, intra-speaker data was examined to identify regular style
changes and to interpret the reasons behind them.
The results revealed that fourteen participants from the north of Halifax, used
the non-standard preposition off to indicate source ‘he doesn’t get that off me,
’whereas speakers from other parts of Halifax and the town of Huddersfield used
the standard variant from. 

Keywords

Prepositions of source West Yorkshire dialect Linguistic variation Social networks Personal identity Style switching.

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