DANL: The Online Dialect Atlas of Newfoundland and Labrador English
Lead Researcher and Department
Dr. Sandra Clarke, Department of Linguistics; Dr. Philip Hiscock, Department of Folklore, Memorial University
Collaborators and Students
Prof. Robert Hollett, Department of English Language and Literature; Dr. Alvin Simms, Department of Geography, Memorial University
Funding Resources
J.R. Smallwood Foundation for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies; Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER).
Summary
While the unique lexicon of Newfoundland and Labrador is captured in the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, information on the regional distribution of its linguistic features is largely lacking. The aim of the DANL project is to document the spatial distribution of traditional features of lexicon, phonology and morphology within the province, in the form of an online interactive dialect atlas accessible to both scholars and the general public.
DANL will map data originally assembled under the direction of linguist Harold Paddock, based on interviews and conversations tape-recorded with conservative older rural speakers from c. 1960 to 1982. Its pronunciation/grammatical component yields information on the distribution of 58 speech features in 69 coastal Newfoundland communities; its lexical component documents responses to a 566-item questionnaire from 126 speakers in twenty representative communities throughout the province.
DANL is expected to go online in 2010, and will enable web display of the regional spread of speech features in the form of maps, tables and graphs. A final phase will enable the incorporation of data from other NL sources, as well as from online users, along with audio segments illustrating pronunciation features. Patterns of spatial distribution revealed by DANL yield insights not only into patterns of linguistic diffusion within Newfoundland and Labrador, but also into the province’s settlement history, and the degree of contact among regional populations.
Dates
2008 -
Keywords
Newfoundland and Labrador, Regional dialect, Linguistic geography, Online linguistic atlas
Locations
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
St. John's
Industry Sectors
Heritage institutions (Arts, entertainment and recreation)
Thematic Categories
Language (Arts, Culture & Heritage)
Culture (Arts, Culture & Heritage)
Departments
Linguistics, Faculty of Arts (STJ)
Folklore, Faculty of Arts (STJ)
English, Faculty of Arts (STJ)
Geography, Faculty of Arts (STJ)
English Language Research Centre, Faculty of Arts (STJ)