Introducing sociolinguistics here is a welcome introduction to sociolinguistics by a leading researcher in the. This theme issue marks fifty years since the publication of william labov s social stratification of english in new york city, the foundation study of variationist sociolinguistics. The main sociolinguist is william labov, an american. William labov department of linguistics, university of pennsylvania abstract current difficulties in achieving intersubjective agreement in linguistics require attention to principles of methodology which consider sources of. Labov when i first entered linguistics, i had in mind a shift towards a more scientifically oriented field, based on the way people use language in everyday life. William labov, university of pennsylvania, usa miriam meyerhoffs entertaining volume revels in the diversity that is the cornerstone. Language change and diversification accrue as variants of speech become more accepted and regular. The second issue with his work with linguistics proper.
This introduction offers the editors rationale for the shape of the issue. Most of the findings of quantitative sociolinguistics that support the principles put forward in this and the previous volume have been discovered and replicated by this method. Labov was that the evidence for linguistics at the. He has been described as an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology of sociolinguistics. It proposes to integrate the family tree model of language change with the wave. I have resisted the term sociolinguistics for many years, since it implies that there can be a successful linguistic theory or practice. It proposes to integrate the family tree model of language change with the wave to a general framework based on changes in language learning ability across the lifespan. Born and raised in northern new jersey, labov studied english and philosophy at harvard university ba, 1948 and worked as an industrial chemist for several years before entering graduate school in linguistics at columbia university in 1961. William labov launched the branch of language studies known. Social stratification of english in new york city, the foundation study of variationist. William labov is an american linguist, widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. William labov bibliography books the social stratification of.
The sociolinguistics of william labov 281 is still unknown. This theme issue marks fifty years since the publication of william labovs. William labov oxford research encyclopedia of linguistics. Introducing sociolinguistics second edition rajend mesthrie, joan swann, ana deumert and william l.
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