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Article published In:
Linguistics in the Netherlands 2023
Edited by Sterre Leufkens and Marco Bril
[Linguistics in the Netherlands 40] 2023
► pp. 39–54

Hyperdialectisms revisited

| Tilburg University | Meertens Institute
| Tilburg University | Meertens Institute
Ongoing processes of dialect leveling and loss have given rise to the widespread use of the concept of hyperdialectism in sociolinguistic research. Hyperdialectisms are considered to be a reaction to dialect loss: a typical dialect feature that is distinctive from the standard language or a neighboring dialect is overgeneralized. However, there is pitfall in using the concept as an umbrella term for all deviating dialect forms. In this paper, we aim to provide a revisited view of hyperdialectisms based on written dialect sources. In doing so, we use hyperdialectal adnominal gender marking in southern Dutch Brabantish dialects as a case study. We show that unexpected forms were already present in early twentieth-century dialect use, despite dialect grammar descriptions from the second half of the century often being used as a point of reference for ‘correct’ grammar. Furthermore, we argue that the concept of hyperdialectism requires careful layering in sociolinguistic analysis.
Keywords: hyperdialectism, dialect change, North Brabant, adnominal gender marking, sociolinguistics
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.The gender suffix in the North Brabantish dialects
  • 3.Characterizing hyperdialectisms
    • 3.1Hyperdialectisms in early twentieth-century written dialect
    • 3.2Unraveling the difficulties of hyperdialectism as an analytical tool
  • 4.Towards a revisited view of hyperdialectism
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 3 November 2023
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https://doi.org/10.1075/avt.00078.dor
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