Sociolinguistic Theory

by Chambers, J. K.

• ISBN13: 9780631183266
• ISBN10: 0631183264
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-02-01
• Publisher: Blackwell Pub

Summary

Sociolinguistic Theory presents a critical synthesis of sociolinguistics that centers on the study of language variation and change, and identifies opportunities for future research.Since the inception of sociolinguistics four decades ago, the correlation of dependent linguistic variables with independent social variables has provided the theoretical core of the discipline. This volume reviews the essential findings that form its foundation and shows how empirical explorations have made it the most stimulating field in the contemporary study of language.Sociolinguistic Theory discusses the linguistic variable and its significance, crucial social variables such as social stratification, sex and age, and the cultural purposes of linguistic variation. This second edition has been updated to incorporate new findings and expand on the discussion of communicative competence and developmental sociolinguistics.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Series Editor''s Preface

Preface

Acknowledgements

Correlations

The Domain of Sociolinguistics

Personal Characteristics

Linguistic Styles

Social Characteristics

Sociocultural Factors

Sociological Factors

Sociolinguistics and the Sociology of Language

The Variable as a Structural Unit

Coexistent Systems and Free Variation

The Sociolinguistic

Figures and tables

Variation and the Tradition of Categoricity

Langue and Parole

The Axiom of Categoricity

Communicative Competence

Linguistics Without Categoricity

Categorical Theory and Variation Theory

Categoricity in Other Disciplines

Class, Network and Mobility

Social Class and Sociolinguistic Sampling

Blue Collar and White Collar

Judgement Samples

Random Samples

Indexing Social Class

Socioeconomic Indices

Subject Indices

The Primacy of Occupation as a Determinant of Class

Class Markers

Spreading the News in Westerntown

Boston "short o" Norwich (a:) Grammatical Variables

Montreal Que-Deletion

The Effects of Mobility

Caste and Class

Comparative Mobility

Mobility in Language Variation

Hungarian Imperative Declaratives

New York (th) and (dh)

Mobility as a Levelling Force

Homogenization:/a/ -Deletion in Sheshatshiu. /ou/ in Milton Keynes

The Persistence of Homogenization

Fronting in Canada

Dialect Laws of Mobility and Isolation

Networks:Norm Enforcement

Network and Class

Some Network Studies

Measures of Network Bonds

Sociometrics

Measures of Network Integration

Linguistic Correlates of Network Integration

Phonological Markers in Martha''s Vineyard

Grammatical Markers in the Reading Playgrounds

Interaction of Network and Other Independent Variables

Social Class

Sex

Age

Oddballs and Insiders

Outsiders

Aspirers

Interlopers

Insiders

The Linguistic Limits of Individuation

Expressing Sex and Gender

The Interplay of Biology and Sociology

Sex and Gender

Some Sex Differences

Probabilistic, not Absolute, Differences

Vocal Pitch as a Sex Difference

Gender Patterns with Stable Variables

Variable (ng).Norwich (ng). Sydney (ng)

Language, Gender and Mobility in Two Communities

Inner City Detroit

Ballymacarret, Belfast

Causes of Sex and Gender Differences

Gender-Based Variability

Sex-Based Variability

Male and Female Speech Patterns in Other Societies

Limits on Female-Male Differences

Punitive Differences in Japan

The Middle East

Linguistic Evidence for Sex and Gender Differences

Accents in Time

Aging

Physical and Cultural Indicators

Some Linguistic Indicators

The Acquisition of Sociolects

Three Formative Periods

Development of Stylistic and Social Variants

Family and Friends

Dialect Acquisition

Generational Differences in Bilingual Situations

Parents Versus Peers

Declaration of Adolescence

Young Adults in the Talk Market

The Marché Linguistique in Montreal

Auxiliary Avoir and Etre

Playing the Talk Market

Linguistic Stability in Middle and Old Age

Changes in Progress

Age-Grading

Real Time and Apparent Time

Testing the Apparent-Time Hypothesis

Adaptive Significance of Language Variation

The Babelian Hypothesis

The Evidence of Subjective Reaction Tests

Dialect as a Source of Conflict

Global Counteradaptivity and Local Adaptivity

Counter Adaptivity and Power

Adaptivity and Community

Dialects in Lower Animals

Buzzy and Clear White-Crowned Sparrows

The Theory of Genetic Adaptation

The Theory of Social Adaptation

The Persistence of the Non-Standard

Covert Prestige. Status and Solidarity

Traditional Theories of the Sources of Diversity

Variation and Climates. Variation and Contact

The Prevalence of Diversity

A Sociolinguistic Theory of the Sources of Diversity

Linguistic Diversity and Social Strata

Two Tenets about Standard Dialects

Naturalness Beyond Phonetics

Two Constraints on

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