Postgraduate students seeks help with dissertation

[PeterTimber]

Frustrating you say? I wound up marrying the typist ( It was cheaper at the time for those thousands of op-cit and ibids). =Peter=

[morella]

Well, that could be an idea...

[seabreezes1]

No Scottish connections, but here's an anecdote that you might find interesting and helpful in your own research. The families of my Gloucester MA community of Sicilians mostly immigrated around 1900. However, even at that time, and since then, there have been Italians from other towns and regions. Many, especially from the Palermo region, go back to visit. When they do, the native Sicilians recognize the "Gloucester Dialect" of their language.

[morella]

This is very interesting, thank you. Also, what do they 'recognize' exactly: a Sicilian dialect influenced by English or some sort of 'supra-dialect' - i.e. a blend of all the different Italian dialects that are spoken in the area. I think the subject would be worth a separate research project!

[PeterTimber]

Morella it the flat A's that were part of the English colonists from SW England who settled in Boston so that CAR is pronounced CAAH.

Now add that to a sicilian word or idiomatic expression using the flat A and VOILA! you have the Gloucester accent. =Peter=

[morella]

Thanks