Accents of English 2: The British Isles

Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Accents and dialectology can be pursued as a gigantic sequence of unrelated facts. Wells knows his facts, all right, probably better than anyone else, but what really distinguishes this book (the first of a three-volume series) is how Wells rigorously integrates his facts into a systematic pattern, based on the history of the English dialects and their descent from a common ancestor. He also covers synchrony--the linguistic system of the individual at any given time--with great insight.

A delight to study and consult, for any professional linguist or serious amateur. ....