Yorkshire folk versus Yorkshire boors: evidence for sociological fractionation in nineteenth-century Yorkshire dialect writing

Abstract

In this article I illustrate the discourses surrounding enregistered Yorkshire dialect and identity which appear to demonstrate sociological fractionation (Agha 2007) in nineteenth-century texts including dialect literature and literary dialect (Shorrocks 1996), dialect poems, ballads, songs, dialogues, and the dialect from Yorkshire characters in novels and plays. The emergent discourses highlight perceptions of Yorkshire characters in literary texts as boors who use generic enregistered (Agha 2003) ‘Yorkshire’ dialect, whereas many local writers contest these representations and argue that the dialect used by literary characters is inaccurate. Moreover, we can observe quantifiable differences in the representations of dialect features in writing aimed at local versus wider audiences. This also correlates with a broader range of social identities depicted for Yorkshire speakers in dialect literature than in literary dialect. I conclude that the recirculation of these discourses is evidence of sociological fractionation, as we see local writers acting as an ingroup challenging and contesting the views and identities portrayed by an outgroup. At the centre of these discourses, we can consistently observe discussion and use of enregistered Yorkshire dialect, which illustrates the additional ideological complexity of the links between language and identity in the nineteenth century.