English in the Southern United States-[Stephen J Nagle, Sara L Sanders].pdf

English in the Southern United States
The English of the southern United States is possibly the most studied
regional variety of any language because of its rich internal diversity, its dis-
tinctiveness among regional varieties in the United States, its significance
as a marker of regional identity, and the general folkloric appeal of southern
culture. However, most if not all books about Southern American English
have been directed almost exclusively toward scholars already working in
the field. This volume, written by a team of experts many of whom are in-
ternationally known, provides a broad overview of the foundations of, and
current research on, language variation in the southern United States de-
signed to invite new inquiry and inquirers. It explores historical and cultural
elements, iconic contemporary features, and current changes in progress.
Centralthemes,issues,andtopicsofscholarlyinvestigationanddebatefigure
prominently throughout the volume. The extensive bibliography at the end
of the book will facilitate continued research.
.  is Professor of English at Coastal Carolina Univer-
sity. He is the author of Inferential Change and Syntactic Modality in English
(1989), editor of a monograph on political changes in eastern Europe (1992),
and the author or co-author of articles on English historical syntax, auxiliary
verbs in southern English, and teaching English as a second language.
.  is Professor of English at Coastal Carolina University.
She is the author or co-author of articles related to language use, language
learning, and language diversity. She was positor of the Linguistic
Atlas of the Middle and South Atlantic States (LAMSAS) for three years.

Editorial Board
Bas Aarts, John Algeo, Susan Fitzmaurice,
Richard Hogg, Merja Kyto,¨ Charles Meyer
English in the Southern United States

The aim of this series is to provide a framework for original work