ABSTRACT
Urban Voices is a collection concerned with accent variation in the English spoken in the British Isles. This chapter provides a collection of recent research based on empirical studies of accent variation. It collects together descriptive data yielded by such studies to stand as a reference resource. The chapter describes descriptive material pertaining to the accents spoken in urban areas of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It suggests that a new term is required in order to encapsulate the diversity of interests represented. The chapter also suggests that the lack of a single label inhibits communication between parties interested in accent variation. It provides a brief look at the names currently used by those researching on accent features. The chapter concludes that a novel term, accent studies, might be better suited than any of the existing ones as a means of marking out a unified territory for research on accent variation.
