Sentence:  The striking positional variants [...] of Virginia are probably an American innovation, since this feature is not found in Standard British English or the folk speech of the <WSD>Midland</WSD> and the south of England, though northern England and Scotland have it to some extent. / ... / It is worth noting that only two instances of the pronunciation /jɛst/, riming with guest, have been recorded in the New England settlement area (one near Boston, the other near Buffalo), a pronunciation widely used in the English <WSD>Midland</WSD> along with /jɪst/, riming with "fist". These are the normal derivatives of OE "gist", "gest"... 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The English Midlands.