Example linguistics dissertation topic 6:

Perceptions of and stereotyping of accents: The Geordie and the Yorkshireman.

Focusing on the arena of sociolinguistics, this dissertation starts with a stereotype. Namely, that whereas the former is often portrayed in the media as ‘warm hearted’, with the dialect being officially seen as the ‘friendliest’ within the UK, the Yorkshireman tends to be characterised as bluff, arrogant and self-opinionated. Using two focus groups this dissertation plays recordings of the same passage of text read by residents of Newcastle and Leeds and evaluates the perceptions of the people generated through listening to their speech patterns. The raw data is then calculated using SPSS. In addition to this primary research, this study also makes substantial use of existing secondary literature on issues of regional accents, Received Pronunciation and public perceptions attached to both.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Beal, J. (2000). ‘From Geordie Ridley to Viz: Popular literature in Tyneside English’, Language and Literature, Vol. 9(4), pp. 343-359.
• Milroy, L. and Gordon, M. (2003). Sociolinguistics: Method and interpretation. Oxford: Blackwell.
• Preston, D.R. (1989). Perceptual dialectology: Non-linguists’ views of areal linguistics. Amsterdam: Foris Publications.