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The Open University

Perceptions of the Social and Cultural Factors which have influenced the use of dialect in Orkney

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This thesis examines the social and cultural factors which have influenced the use of dialect in Orkney. Orcadians could be said to be bi-dialectal speaking an Orcadianinfluenced Scottish Standard English including Norse-derived lexical items spoken within a diglossic speech situation. The main factors on which the research questions were based featured the effects of migration on the language and dialect of the islands; the attitudes of the local population on the use of dialect in a variety of situations; the consequences of greater<br/>demographic movement within Orkney and how this might have shaped the way people interact within the community. Through interviews with people from 13 different locations along with the completion of 100 questionnaires, a comprehensive range of information has been gathered. The thesis provides a contribution to the literature on the use of dialect in Orkney in an area which has hitherto been generally overlooked and certainly not covered from<br/>a social and cultural perspective.

Degree

thesis:*
Name dc:type.qualificationname
Doctor of Philosophy (awarded by OU/Aberdeen)
Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
Doctoral Thesis
Grantor dc:publisher.institution
The Open University
Year dc:date.issued
2013

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Rendall, Thomas
Advisors dc:contributor.advisor
  • Heddle, Donna
  • MacKinnon, Ken

Rights

Language dc:language
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Identifier
oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/f41ad663-6618-4460-b08a-542397956110
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:pure.atira.dk:studenttheses/f41ad663-6618-4460-b08a-542397956110

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of the Highlands and Islands
Base URL
pureadmin.uhi.ac.uk/ws/oai
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Rendall, Thomas. Perceptions of the Social and Cultural Factors which have influenced the use of dialect in Orkney. Doctoral Thesis thesis, The Open University, 2013. https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/f41ad663-6618-4460-b08a-542397956110