Socio-dialectal works in the Community of Madrid

Abstract

Rural dialects in Madrid, considered to be closer to the normative language than other dialects, have normally been overlooked by geolinguists, in spite of the undoubtedly interest risen by the area. The fact that there is no dialectal material for that region comparable with that of other Spanish areas —some of which include linguistic atlases— has prompted the decision to carry out a dialectal research using new methodological material. Madrid dialects are interesting, among other reasons, because some «Southern» traits divide the Community in two. Moreover, the interviewed informants have the particular characteristic that they are the closest group to a focus of linguistic irradiation as powerful as the capital of Spain. In order to convey a complete image of the linguistic situation of the area, socio-dialectal material of informants of different ages have been collected which, compared with the material of dialectal surveys, will enable us to analyse the tendencies and ongoing changes.