This article describes a subset of data from a larger project investigating perceptions that Washington State residents have about English spoken in their state to explore dialect variation and the social and regional evaluation of it in this under-studied region. Respondents were asked to draw on a map of Washington the places where they believe people speak "differently" and to give a label for that way of speaking. The results indicate that respondents perceive eastern Washington as very different from the rest of Washington. The analysis of the results uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to create maps of areas associated with labels provided by the respondents, such as "country," "Spanish," "slang," and "gangster." It is suggested here that, in addition to providing insight on respondents' underlying theories of language and culture, these perceptions point to linguistic and sociocultural questions that should be explored further in Washington.The english spoken in the western United States has not often been the subject of sociolinguistic investigation; thus, relatively little is known about the English in this region. Research, such as that conducted in California (e.g.,

This paper reports the results of a survey of 101 Japanese university students' perceptions of different varieties of English using an open-ended questionnaire. Participants indicated their first impressions of varieties of English that they had named. This methodology allows participants themselves to provide the specific varieties as well as the evaluative categories and avoids problems associated with using voice stimuli while capturing the stereotypes of the countries they name, a method of research well-established in perceptual dialectology. There were consistent patterns of evaluation of Englishes not found in similar research such as characterisations of US English as authentic, the default variety, a familiar or easy variety. Typically, when evaluating varieties of English, respondents attribute higher status to UK English than US English. Capturing the attitudes of non-native speakers to varieties of English provides understanding of the influences on the shape of English as a global language as attitudes are known to be a powerful influence on the usage and perceptions of language varieties. among the UK respondents they surveyed. Thus, an interesting question remains about the discrepancy between the evaluation of varieties in question by native speakers in previous research and the evaluation by non-native speakers found by McKenzie, particularly perhaps since McKenzie did not include the stereotypically status-preferred RP variety.McKenzie (2008c) also found that these same Japanese learners of English were relatively good at correctly identifying the US varieties as originating from the US but not the country of origin of the other varieties. For example, 59% of the respondents identified Southern US English and 54% correctly identified the Midwest US English as American. Only 32% identified Glaswegian standard and 31% Glaswegian vernacular as originating from the UK. McKenzie (2008b) calls for more research on attitudes to varieties of English to better understand these attitudes and inform language planning policy and language pedagogy.It seems that how non-native speakers perceive different varieties of Inner Circle Englishes remains unclear. As such, we feel that research on those varieties is merited; however, we do not intend, by conducting such research, to suggest that Inner Circle varieties are more important than Outer and Expanding circle varieties or to reinforce the hegemonic position of Inner Circle varieties. We believe that perceptions and attitudes to different varieties of English are crucial towards understanding the use and form of global English. So, while some scholars believe 'A socially realistic approach to language has to recognise that variation exists within a national variety, whether American, Australian, or British -and the same is true of Englishes in the Outer and Expanding Circles' (Kachru & Smith, 2009, p. 6), research on attitudes towards those varieties and the power those

This research explores the extent to which the speech of Appalachian migrants in Ypsilanti, Michigan has been affected by the emerging local norm, an ongoing dialect change labeled the Northern Cities Shift (NCS). Recorded speech from these migrants was acoustically analyzed to determine whether the NCS feature of low-front vowel raising of 0ae0 was present. Index scores derived from formant values were then subjected to statistical analysis to determine the degree to which the respondents' use of this vowel reflects participation in the NCS. The respondents' use or nonuse of this feature was correlated with their sex, social status, age, and social network characteristics to determine which, if any, have influenced respondents' participation, or lack of participation, in the NCS. The results show that social network and sex are statistically significant predictors of acquisition, or lack of acquisition, of the feature in question, whereas age and socioeconomic status are not. Network analysis considers an individual's network, the linkages, the strength of linkages and frequency of interaction, and their impact on that individual. A variety of researchers from anthropology (Barnes, 1954; Mitchell, 1969; Radcliffe-Brown, 1952), social psychology (Moreno, 1953), family sociology (Bott, 1957), and health0stress management (Caplan, 1974) have found great explanatory power in individual-level social network analysis. Boissevain pointed out that social networks are viewed in two ways: (1) as a system of relations that impinge on individuals and influence their behavior, and (2) as a series of relations that persons use to achieve their ends (1973:viii). Sociolinguists have found social network analysis to be a critical tool in explaining some linguistic behavior

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Research from populations around the world on attitudes to varieties of English is essential in order to have a better understanding of how the complexities of globalization play a role in the form of English as a world language. To that end, university students in China were asked to name countries around the world where they believe English is spoken and indicate what kind of impression they have of those varieties without the presentation of voice stimuli. This type of data elicitation enables the participants themselves to provide the researcher with evaluative categories and avoids problems associated with using voice stimuli. The results indicate that the effect of the cultural hegemony of US English as a variety is complex, and that, contrary to assumptions, US English is unlikely to be a model for a 'standard' variety of world English in the traditional sense.