Nikki Gittins | England
Nikki is a Graphic Designer and Photographer by trade, yet works in an interdisciplinary manner within her own practice. Graduating from Plymouth University with a B.A. (Hons) in Graphic Design and The University of the West of England with an M.A. in Graphic Arts, Nikki’s work investigates communities’ relationship with language, specifically local dialect.
Nikki currently runs her own Graphic Design business in Bristol, and is developing her M.A. work 'The Local Language Project' into Ph.D. research. She also gives talks around the country about her research for The Local Language Project and has been a guest speaker on the BBC Radio several times. |
The Local Language Project
The Local Language Project is an interdisciplinary project focusing on the local dialect of the Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire borders. The project combines Visual Ethnography with Linguistics, traditional Graphic Arts and Photography to highlight the richness of the dialect within the area, still in use today. Nikki started the project in January of 2012, after noticing the oddities within language around the country. Focusing on her home county (Shropshire) and its surrounding area. The project studies the dialect of the area, its importance to our social and anthropological history, our evolution, the relationship this dialect has to the main industries of the area (agriculture and mining) and the relevance of this language within today’s society. Through community participation, including interviews, filming, talks and dialect submissions, the project has gathered an ever-expanding database, with over 750 words/phrases still in use today. Research to this extent, in this particular area, has not taken place since the late 1800s, and as demonstrated by the local community, is in high demand. The project also investigates the Etymology of the words, Sociolinguistics and the influence the movement of the Welsh border over the decades has had on the language. |