The Handbook of Language Variation and Change

by Chambers, J. K.; Trudgill, Peter; Schilling, Natalie

• ISBN13: 9780470756591
• ISBN10: 0470756594
• Edition: 1st
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2008-01-21
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

The Handbook of Language Variation and Change, written by a distinguished international roster of contributors, reflects the vitality and growth of the discipline in its multifaceted pursuits. It is a convenient, hand-held repository of the essential knowledge about the study of language variation and change.

• Written by internationally recognized experts in the field.
  
• Reflects the vitality and growth of the discipline.
  
• Discusses the ideas that drive the field and is illustrated with empirical studies.
  
• Includes explanatory introductions which set out the boundaries of the field and place each of the chapters into perspective.

Author Biography

J. K. Chambers is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Sociolinguistic Theory: Language Variation and its Social Significance (1995), and co-author, with Peter Trudgill, of Dialectology (second edition, 1998), as well as other books and scores of articles. He also works extensively as a forensic consultant and maintains a parallel vocation in jazz criticism which has included writing a prizewinning biography Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis (1998).

Peter Trudgill is Chair of English Linguistics at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland. He is author of Sociolinguistics: An Introduction to Language and Society (1996) and Dialects of England (second edition, Blackwell 1999), and co-editor, with Laurie Bauer, of Language Myths (1999). He is editor of Blackwell's Language in Society series.

Natalie Schilling-Estes is Assistant Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University. She is co-author of Hoi Toide on the Outer Banks: The Story of the Ocracoke Brogue (1997) and American English (Blackwell 1998), both with Walt Wolfram.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors.

Introduction.

Studying Language Variation: An Informal Epistemology: J.K. Chambers (University of Toronto, Canada).

Part I: Methodologies:.

Field Methods:.

Introduction: Natalie Schilling-Estes (Georgetown University, USA).

1. Entering the Community: Field Work: Crawford Feagin (University of Zurich, Switzerland).

2. Language with an Attitude: Dennis Preston (Michigan State University, USA).

3. Investigating Variation and Change in Written Documents: Edgar W. Schneider (University of Regensburg, Germany).

4. Inferring Variation and Change from Public Corpora: Laurie Bauer (Victoria University of Wellington, NZ).

Evaluation:.

Introduction: J.K. Chambers (University of Toronto, Canada).

5. The Quantitative Paradigm: Robert Bayley (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA).

6. Implicational Scales: John R. Rickford (Stanford University, USA).

7. Instrumental Phonetics: Erik R. Thomas (North Carolina State University, USA).

Part II: Linguistic Structure:.

Introduction: Natalie Schilling-Estes (Georgetown University, USA).

8. Variation and Phonological Theory: Arto Anttila (Boston University/National University of Singapore).

9. Investigating Chain Shifts and Mergers: Matthew Gordon (University of Missouri at Columbia, USA).

10. Variation and Syntactic Theory: Alison Henry (Queens University, Belfast, Northern Ireland).

11. Discourse Variation: Ronald Macaulay (Pitzer College, USA).

Part III: Social Factors:.

Time:.

Introduction: Natalie Schilling-Estes (Georgetown University, USA).

12. Real and Apparent Time: Guy Bailey (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA).

13. Child Language Variation: Julie Roberts (University of Vermont, USA).

14. Patterns of Variation, Including Change: J.K. Chambers (University of Toronto, Canada).

Social Differentiation:.

Introduction: Peter Trudgill (University of Fribourg, Switzerland).

15. Investigating Stylistic Variation: Natalie Schilling-Estes (Georgetown University, USA).

16. Social Class: Sharon Ash (University of Pennsylvania, USA).

17. Sex and Gender in Variationist Research: Jenny Cheshire (Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, England).

18. Ethnicity: Carmen Fought (Pitzer College, USA).

Domains:.

Introduction: Peter Trudgill (University of Fribourg, Switzerland).

19. Language and Identity: Norma Mendoza-Denton (University of Arizona, USA).

20. The Family: Kirk Hazen (West Virginia University, USA).

21. Communities of Practice: Miriam Meyerhoff (University of Edinburgh, Scotland).

22. Social Networks: Lesley Milroy (University of Michigan, USA).

23. The Speech Community: Peter L. Patrick (Essex University, England).

Part IV: Contact:.

Introduction: Peter Trudgill (University of Fribourg, Switzerland).

24. Space and Spatial Diffusion: David Britain (Essex University, England).

25. Linguistic Outcomes of Language Contact: Gillian Sankoff (University of Pennsylvania, USA).

26. Koineization and Accommodation: Paul Kerswill (Reading University, England).

Part V: Language and Societies:.

Introduction: J.K. Chambers (University of Toronto, Canada).

27. Linguistic and Social Typology: Peter Trudgill (University of Fribourg, Switzerland).

28. Comparative Sociolinguistics: Sali Tagliamonte (University of York, England).

29. Language Death and Dying: Walt Wolfram (North Carolina State University, USA).

Index.