This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the phonological variation of (ai) in final unstressed syllables with regard to the orthographic , and in Cardiff Welsh. Due to a lack of research on Cardiff Welsh, it is unclear what form or forms are common for (ai), and this paper presents a contemporary analysis of this feature by examining the effect of dialect contact and standardization on Cardiff Welsh. An analysis of a range of linguistic and social factors affecting (ai) variation in final unstressed syllables in Cardiff Welsh is also presented. This paper also considers the implications of forming new dialects in the context of language revitalization.
Keywords
language variation; Welsh; Cardiff; dialect contact; standardization; forming new dialects; language revitalization;