Dialect Stereotyping in Rural Newfoundland

Abstract

This paper reports on the first study designed to elicit dialect stereotypes in rural Newfoundland. A sample of 86 highschool students, representing a range of standard and nonstandard speakers, was chosen from five Newfoundland communities. Respondents were asked to evaluate six dialects of English, both standard and (local) non-standard. Evaluations were made on scales involving both status and solidarity dimensions - that is, the study was designed to elicit the degree of prestige attributed to various dialects of English by speakers who themselves were from different dialect backgrounds, as well as the extent to which such speakers exhibited dialect loyalty to regional speech forms. Results of this rural study are compared with those of an urban language attitude study conducted in St. John's, Newfoundland some two years earlier. Educational implications of the rural study are briefly discussed.