Dialect levelling is imperfectly studied in Sweden, in spite of the fact that few speak traditional dialects anymore. The region of western Sweden is unusual, being influenced by standard Swedish (as is the case in most parts of Sweden), as well as by the Gothenburg dialect. The project aims to study dialect change in a selected area that consists of a dynamic city (Gothenburg), three adjacent regional centres (Uddevalla, Trollhättan, and Borås), and a small town (Skara). The issues at hand are: Which dialects were spoken in the region around 1950?; How have they changed?; How far has the Gothenburg dialect spread, and which dialects does it encounter?; To what extent are traditional features still in use?; Is it mainly standard Swedish or the Gothenburg dialect that has had an impact, or is there any tendency towards western Swedish regionalization?; Finally, can language change and continuity be associated with local or regional identity, or should developments be explained in terms of tradition vs. modernity, rural vs. urban, or in terms of networks and lifestyles? In order to answer these questions, access to old dialects will be secured by means of archive recordings. Today's dialects will be recorded by way of interviews and conversations, focussing on subjects that help to ascertain people's identities. The linguistic analysis deals mainly with phonology, lexicon, and prosody. Theories from linguistics and the social sciences will be conjoined, as it will be presumed that language change has a substantial connection with external factors such as mobility, industrial expansion, infrastructure, and education.