ABSTRACT
The starting point for the compilation of the directory was the Survey of British Dialect Grammar, a project based at Birkbeck College, University of London, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. Work on the project left no doubt that dialect continues to be a source of fascination for a wide range of people — for academics who believe that the description of dialect is as important to linguistic theory as standard English; for teachers who feel that education should acknowledge and build on children's speech, rather than criticizing and rejecting it; for writers and performers who find dialect a versatile vehicle for their work; for the large body of lay people who identify with regional speech and want to find out more.
