Towards a more inclusive dialectology: The added value of including ‘new’ speakers and ‘new’ dialects in modern dialect research

Abstract

This paper provides a summary of my talk during the ACLC Anniversary Conference on 20 June 2025. Based on the main findings of the four-year research project Changing gender: Language variation and change in gender marking in Dutch dialects, it proposes a research agenda that combines theories and methods from the fields of dialectology and (third wave) sociolinguistics. In particular, this paper advocates for an ‘inclusive’ dialectology that not only focuses on native speakers who have a complete command of a traditional dialect, but also on ‘new’ speakers and new ways of using dialect, for example on social media, which challenge the concept of authenticity. By focusing on one specific case, i.e., adnominal gender marking in the North Brabantish dialects, it is shown that in the context of variation and change (cf. dialect leveling and innovation), grammatical features can be used for identity formation and expression, indexing social meanings in processes of enregisterment.