Research objectives
The EAST project involves a real-time restudy of Peter Trudgill’s 1968 Norwich study, which is designed to deliver one of the longest-span panel studies in the field, alongside a contemporary trend study of the Norwich community.
The project is funded by an ESRC New Investigator Grant. Click here to visit the project’s award page on the UKRI website.
Test stability of the individual grammar over the lifespan
Via a panel study, we ask whether individuals can shift towards/away from community-level change later in life, looking at both speech perception and production.
Evaluate historical predictions based on present-day data
We will compare those changes in progress identified by Trudgill in 1968 with what actually happened over the following decades via a longitudinal trend study.
Ask why some changes spread and others don’t
We will work to better understand the mechanisms and factors behind why certain features might be accepted, modified or rejected within communities.
Examine the social and linguistic factors that influence change
Our deep longitudinal perspective will allow us to evaluate which factors have potentially accelerated or decelerated change since 1968.
Evaluate the efficacy of the apparent time methodology
By comparing trend results with longitudinal evidence, we will evaluate the reliability of the apparent time method, which infers change by comparing older and younger speakers at one time point.
Apply modern methods to the original and new data
We take a dynamic approach to the longitudinal study of, e.g., vowels, using Generalised Additive Mixed Models to model formant trajectories, while applying modern acoustic analysis to Trudgill’s original data.