This volume followed from a colloquium held at the University of Sheffield in April 2013. The event was in honour of our colleague and mentor, Professor Joan Beal, who retired from academia that same year. The regard in which Joan is held was evident from the enthusiasm for the one-day event; some contributors travelled thousands of miles to celebrate her career. This volume is not a Festschrift, but it was inspired by the debate that arose from the colloquium that celebrated Joan’s work. It reflects her influence on the field and the regard in which she is held. Joan is cited in every single paper, across every section, with reference to every topic covered.
The structure of the volume also reflects Joan as an academic. Despite being an internationally renowned historical linguist and dialectologist, Joan is a down-to-earth, warm, generous, and supportive mentor. The volume contains contributions from established and influential scholars, but it also includes the work of up and coming research stars. Both editors benefitted enormously from Joan’s mentoring and we hope that, by giving voice to some early career researchers, we are emulating the way in which Joan has always championed and supported junior colleagues.
Our first thank you of this volume, then, must be to Professor Joan Beal. Joan, we are grateful for your support, your wisdom, and – most importantly for this volume – your inspiration.
We would also like to thank the contributors to this volume. The volume was not the editors’ only joint project: our daughter, Lara, was born as we were nearing completion of the final manuscript. The contributors have been exceedingly patient with two sleep-deprived editors making last minute demands on their time. Thanks to you all for your efficiency and responsiveness. Thanks too, to Helen Barton, at Cambridge University Press, as well as our Content Managers, Neil Ryan and Sarah Lambert, and our Project Manager, Yassar Arafat for their calm and helpful support throughout the project. We also want to thank Kate Lovatt for her careful copy editing and help preparing the final manuscript.
Finally, we would also like to thank several colleagues who helped with the reviewing process. Their knowledge and insight has helped to ensure the integrity of the volume (although, of course, any outstanding errors are the fault of the contributors and editors). Thanks go to: Lynn Clark, Sylvie Dubois, Susan Fitzmaurice, Lauren Hall-Lew, Paul Kerswill, Sam Kirkham, Robert Lawson, Claire Nance, Kate Pahl, Dennis Preston, Susanne Wagner, Katie Wales, and Gareth Walker. Thanks, also, to the anonymous reader who evaluated the entire volume and passed on a constructive and positive review. Finally, Emma is grateful to the AHRC for funding grant AH/I026243, which enabled her to focus her attention on the study of language and place.
