Evolving Dialects.

I found this site via Facebook; it’s based on research by James Burridge (seen here in 2022) and Bert Vaux (at LH in 2017), and the intro is as follows: Language moves. Patterns emerge. The words we use tell a story of where we come from. Statistical physics helps us understand how that story changes. Explore half a century of American English, from the geography of soda and pop to the forces that shape dialect boundaries. Why do some people say sneakers while others say tennis shoes? And why do these differences persist as people move and communities mix? Two complementary studies by James Burridge, with Bert Vaux on the map-based study, connect survey evidence with statistical physics. A state field describes the relative frequency of each word across a landscape. Following that field through time reveals how local interactions and migration can reshape language. The site is so spiffy and designed-to-the-hilt that I’m a little afraid of it, but I trust those who know more about…