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Hillary Shaw,

I too have a research interest in dialects.  The 1950/s/1960s research was organised by the Department of English Language and Medieval English Literature in the University of Leeds.  It was a survey of all English (i.e. "traditional/rural") dialects. The principal academic was Harold Orton although local fieldworkers were employed to do the interviews.  The data was mainly collected through highly structured questionnaires whose components had various phonological, morphological, syntactical and lexical purposes.  In some localities, audio tape recordings were also made.

Are you doing dialect research yourself?  Would be interested to know what you're doing.

>Dear All

>Apologies to most of you for what will be for many a totally

>irrevelant email, but I dont know what department of the University of Leeds

>the following

>study was done under - geography, sociology, linguistics, or

>whatever.

>Whilst researching rural shop closures in South Ferriby, a small

>village in n lincs, i came across a woman whose husband, now

>dead, was the subject of some research in the late 50s/early 60s

>by someone from the University of Leeds, looking into the "Old

>Lincolnshire dialect". She was quite keen, for sentimantal reasons,

>to see if any record of this interview still existed. Unfortunately she

>didnt know what dept did this, or if it was PhD research or

>whatever.

>A long shot I know, after 40 years, but does this ring any bells with

>anyone?

>Hillary Shaw, P/G geography.