Publisher's Synopsis
The maps produced in this atlas are based on the data collected for the "Survey of English Dialects" (SED) that were published in narrow phonetic transcription between 1962 and 1971. CLAE is the first linguistic atlas of England developed by a computer. It consists of two volumes. While CLAE 1, published in 1991, comprises 169 item-centered symbol maps, 75 of which are lexical, 56 morphological and 38 syntactic in character, CLAE 2 adds 152 maps of the same type, of which, again, 75 are lexical, 65 morphological and 12 syntactic in nature. From these numbers follows that in both volumes special attention was given to morphosyntax. Reviewers of CLAE 1 unanimously considered the maps to be superior to any of the previously published lexical, morphological and syntactic maps based on the SED data both as regards the amount of information they provide and the way they present it. Of special importance is the integration of the informants' and fieldworkers' remarks on the status of the responses into the symbolisation. This is the first time that such information is put on the map. Apart from the maps the atlas contains chapters on dialectological as well as on computational aspects, a bibliography mainly on English linguistic geography and several indices. Among these is a comprehensive subject index covering all maps in both volumes. Of special importance in CLAE 2 are the seven dialectometric contributions, all written by experts in the field. They use various quantitative methods in interpreting CLAE 1 and CLAE 2 data.
