Series 10 - Research project: Dialect Topography Project

0.14 m of textual records

This series contains files relating to a major research project undertaken over a 10 year period from 1991-2002. Prof. Chambers was the principal investigator. The dialect topography project is described in the grant application as “a set of methods for gathering information on English vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and usage from representative samples of adults in various Canadian regions, using a standard questionnaire….By correlating language use with social factors…we can determine how men and women use the language, how Canadians differ from Americans at border points, whether young people are using the language differently from their parents and grandparents…” The project consisted of macro-sociolinguistic regional surveys of regions across Canada including the Golden Horseshoe (Ontario), Ottawa Valley, Quebec City, Montreal, New Brunswick, Eastern Townships and Greater Vancouver, as well as adjacent U.S. regions (upstate New York, Maine, Vermont, and Washington).

This series contains files documenting agreements and contracts, grant applications, correspondence and notes, as well as correspondence relating to the various regions where surveys were conducted. The complete databases, including on-line tutorials, are stored on the University of Toronto’s Arts and Science web site at http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~chambers/dialect_topography.html

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