Chapter 1
Mining emigrant correspondence for linguistic insights
The examination of emigrant letters shows that a judicious exploitation of this material can yield a variety of insights regarding
the linguistic structure of varieties at the time of letter writing, despite a number of caveats which must be borne in mind. The diagnostic
value of vernacular correspondence would appear to be considerable in that it assists scholars in completing a picture of variety development
over the past few centuries. A wide spectrum of letters helps to establish the profile of vernacular English as it was transported to different
overseas locations in the later colonial period.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Contextualising emigrant letters
- 2.1The sender and writer
- 2.2Why emigrant letters are different
- 2.3Emigrant letters, memory and personal identity
- 3.The nature of emigrant correspondence
- 3.1Contact with home
- 3.2Taxonomy of letter recipients
- 4.Caveats regarding emigrant letters
- 5.Testing hypotheses about the development of varieties
- 6.Available emigrant letters
- 7.The linguistic analysis of emigrant correspondence
- 7.1Spelling and punctuation
- 7.2Annie’s story
- 7.2.1Authorship and education
- 7.2.2Emigrant letters and the postal service
- 7.3Annie Carroll as letter writer
- 7.3.1Indications of Irish pronunciations
- 7.3.2Linguistic features of correspondence
- 8.Structure of volume
- 8.1The language of emigrant correspondence
- 8.2The language of the Irish emigrant experience
- 8.3Vernacular correspondence: Widening the scope
- 9.Conclusion
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Notes
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References