David Parry is a British dialectologist. He received his education from the University of Sheffield

University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield is a research university based in the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It is one of the original 'red brick' universities and is a member of the Russell Group of leading research intensive universities...

 and the University of Leeds

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

; working at the latter school for the renowned dialectologist Harold Orton

Harold Orton

Harold Orton was an English university lecturer and dialectologist, best remembered as co-founder of the Survey of English Dialects . Orton developed the questionnaire for the survey together with Eugen Dieth...

. He then taught dialectology for almost three decades at Swansea University

Swansea University

Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...

.

Parry is best known for establishing the Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects

Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects

The Survey of Anglo-Welsh Dialects was commenced in 1968 under the direction of David Parry of University College, Swansea. The aim was to record the "conservative forms" of Welsh English spoken in rural locations in Wales. The methodology was based on that used in the Survey of English Dialects...

 (SAWD) at Swansea University. He founded the SAWD in 1968 with the aim of recording the "conservative forms" of Welsh English

Welsh English

Welsh English, Anglo-Welsh, or Wenglish refers to the dialects of English spoken in Wales by Welsh people. The dialects are significantly influenced by Welsh grammar and often include words derived from Welsh...

 spoken in rural locations in Wales using the same methodology as the Survey of English Dialects

Survey of English Dialects

The Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961 under the direction of Professor Harold Orton of the English department of the University of Leeds. It aimed to collect the full range of speech in England and Wales before local differences were to disappear...

 (1950-1961). The survey analysed pronunciation, lexis

Lexis (linguistics)

In linguistics, a lexis is the total word-stock or lexicon having items of lexical, rather than grammatical, meaning. This notion contrasts starkly with the Chomskian proposition of a “Universal Grammar” as the prime mover for language...

, morphology

Morphology (linguistics)

In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...

 and syntax

Syntax

In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....

 based on interviews with informants in ninety locations, who were to be over sixty years of age. The results of the survey for south-east and south-west Wales were published as two volumes in 1977 and 1979. To these a companion volume on north Wales was added in 1991. After his retirement in 1995, dialectologist Robert Penhallurick succeeded him as custodian of the SAWD Archive.