Phonological levelling, diffusion and divergence in Liverpool and its hinterland

It is widely reported in the UK media that English accents are becoming alike. In 2001 a Guardian article claimed "England's distinctive dialects may be doomed to disappear". Not just media hype, this has also been observed in linguistic research. In fact, this convergence, called 'levelling' by linguists, is attested across the country. However, England’s north-west has been largely ignored.
This project will investigate levelling (and its opposite, divergence) in three north-western localities - Liverpool, Skelmersdale and St Helens - which offer a unique vantage point. Liverpool is a major urban centre, so we expect features of Liverpool English to spread. Skelmersdale, once a mining town, was designated a new town in 1961 and saw mass migration from Liverpool, encouraging the adoption of Liverpool features. St Helens, once part of Lancashire, became part of Merseyside in 1974, much to the dismay of its inhabitants who affiliate strongly with Lancashire. This, unlike in Skelmersdale, may block the adoption of Liverpool features.
Shedding new light on how levelling works, this project integrates a quantitative analysis of production and perception data with attitudinal and identity-based data, in order to investigate the relationship between linguistic and geographical, social and perceptual factors in language change.