Computer analysis of a dialectal transition belt

ConclusionThe layout of the isogloss routes suggests a complex transition area with transitions between the East and West Midlands as well as between the North and the South. And so it is. But it is essentially a transition-area between the Core North and the Core South, with the frontiers of minor speech-areas super-imposed on that bilateral division.Thus, we can lay bare the internal structure of dialect transitions).(i) by identifying the speech-areas whose frontiers contribute to them significantly, and the geographical extent of their contribution; and(ii) by calculating a weighting for each one relative to the others.In this way we can construct a profile of the transition-belt to illustrate its internal structure in a striking way.