Abstract :
A non-standard form of the definite article is used by upwards of a million speakers
every day and yet it has received little attention in terms of a phonological analysis. The
most recent discussions have been a historical and contemporary survey, spectrographic
investigations and sociolinguistic surveys. It is clearly a complex issue and has relevance to
a number of theoretical questions, some of which are rarely addressed. We need to know
the range of phonetic forms; the phonological distribution of the forms; the historical
development and whether this helps with a synchronic analysis; and the number and
nature of the lexical storage forms. The distribution varies between localities and between
speakers; many speakers also use standard English the. The historical development is not at
all clear, but does throwsome light onwhat the synchronic grammars should be like. There
appears to be a break between those grammars in which the phonetic forms of the definite
article are predictable in terms of the phonological environment and those later grammars
that have lexically specific forms. The changes that have taken place cannot be explained in
terms of simple system-internal mechanisms and some knowledge of the sociohistorical
background to the emergence of the new grammars is necessary. This article looks at
historical sources from the mid seventeenth century onwards to try to determine the
changes that have taken place in the northern dialects concerned, and proposes population
movements and expansion as a determining factor in the changes that are in evidence.
One possible scenario in terms of new-dialect formation during the nineteenth century
is suggested. For the modern variants polysystemic, declarative grammars are proposed,
with the possibility of grammar-switching under certain circumstances, such as repair or
interaction with outsiders.
