Book contents
1 - What’s It All About?
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2026
Summary
This chapter introduces the origins of the Manchester Voices project, tracing its development from an interdisciplinary pilot study to a fully funded sociolinguistic research programme. It documents the early collaboration between Rob Drummond and Erin Carrie and the creation of the ‘Accent Van’ – a mobile recording studio designed to collect reflections on language and identity across Greater Manchester. The chapter provides context for the project by outlining key concepts in sociolinguistics, with a focus on language variation, identity, and perception. It also explains why Greater Manchester offers a particularly rich site for sociolinguistic research, due to its diverse population, historic industrial significance, and complex linguistic heritage. In addition, the chapter offers insight into the academic funding process, illustrating the behind-the-scenes labour involved in securing support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The chapter ends with the successful launch of the main project in 2019, just before the unexpected disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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- Manchester VoicesAccents, Dialects and Identities, pp. 9 - 24Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2026
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