Читать книгу Levelling and diffusion in the Cumbrian city dialect of Carlisle - Sandra Jansen - Страница 13

The county of Cumbria was created in 1974 after the Local Government Act (1972) by combining the historical counties Cumberland, Westmorland and Furness, formerly a part of Lancashire. The county is divided into six districts: Allerdale, Barrow-in-Furness, City of Carlisle, Copeland, Eden und South Lakeland. After North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, the county is the third largest non-metropolitan county in England. Neighbouring counties of Cumbria are Northumberland, County Durham, North Yorkshire, Lancashire and the Scottish council areas of Dumfries, Galloway and Scottish Borders. To the west there is the Irish Sea with the Solway Firth. The Lake District in the south of the county is a tourist attraction of which Carlisle as the largest and only city in Cumbria can only partially benefit. Carlisle is not a typical holiday destination but more of a stop off city.

Carlisle is also known as the Border City. This title reflects its proximity to the Scottish border which is only 16km away. Because of its geographical key position in Britain, Carlisle has always been important as a military defence point. While Newcastle was founded in the east to secure the area, Carlisle was seen as the equivalent in the west of the country. Map 3.1. shows Carlisle’s geographical location in England. London is about 500 km away which makes Carlisle the English city which is furthest away from London. This is an important point considering the diffusion of linguistic features which are associated with London English.

The city’s surrounding area is dominated by agriculture. The closest urban area is Tyneside, some 90km away to the east, accessible by rail and car. South-west of the city, about 50km from Carlisle, one finds the Lake District with its rugged landscape. To the east are the Pennines, which stretch across the country. They are not very high in the north-east, making travel to Newcastle relatively easy. The Borderlands, also known just as the Borders, as well as the area west of Carlisle out to the Irish Sea (West Cumbria) are sparsely populated areas. The setting of the Carlisle and its surroundings makes it interesting in terms of identity construction but also in terms of geolinguistic spread, i.e. levelling and diffusion of features.

Figure 3.1: The geographical position of Carlisle in Britain (d-maps.com)

Figure 3.1 provide a map of parts of the UK and Cumbria. Carlisle is connected with other regions by road and rail. The only motorway in Cumbria is the M6 which runs through the county on a north-south axis connecting Cumbria with Edinburgh/Glasgow to the north and Lancaster, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the south. The city of Carlisle is found in close proximity to this motorway. In addition, the A595 and A596 coming from Whitehaven and Workington end in Carlisle and the A69 connects Carlisle with the north-east. Thus, Carlisle has good road infrastructure.