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Article analysis:

The article "Investigating residual rhoticity in a non-rhotic accent" by Esther Asprey reports on a study conducted in the Black Country area of the West Midlands of England. The author examines the existence of variable rhoticity in the local speech variety, which has not been found in previous linguistic studies carried out in this region. The paper presents preliminary findings from a detailed study of the variety carried out between 2003-2006.

The article appears to be well-researched and provides valuable insights into the linguistic features of the Black Country accent. However, there are some potential biases and limitations that need to be considered.

One potential bias is that the study only focuses on one specific region of England, which may not be representative of other areas. Additionally, the sample size used in the study is relatively small, which may limit its generalizability to larger populations.

Another limitation is that the article does not provide much information about how data was collected or analyzed. This lack of detail makes it difficult for readers to evaluate the validity and reliability of the findings presented.

Furthermore, while the article acknowledges previous studies that have found low levels of rhoticity among speakers in this region, it does not explore possible reasons for why this might be the case. For example, social factors such as education level or socioeconomic status could play a role in shaping language use and variation.

Overall, while "Investigating residual rhoticity in a non-rhotic accent" provides interesting insights into linguistic variation within a specific region of England, it would benefit from more detailed information about data collection and analysis methods as well as consideration of potential biases and limitations.