This Element documents the evolution of a research program that began in the early 1960s with the author's first investigation of language change on Martha's Vineyard. It traces the development of what has become the basic framework for studying language variation and change.
The Transformation of Experience in Oral Narrative
Exploring the profound themes of life and death, William Labov enhances his established narrative analysis framework. By delving into personal and universal experiences, he examines how stories shape our understanding of these critical human concerns, offering insights into the nature of storytelling and its impact on our lives.
The sociolinguist William Labov has worked for decades on change in progress in American dialects and on African American Vernacular English (AAVE). In Dialect Diversity in America, Labov examines the diversity among American dialects and presents the counterintuitive finding that geographically localized dialects of North American English are increasingly diverging from one another over time.
William Labov extends his widely used framework for narrative analysis to matters of greatest human concern: life and death.
Written by the world-renowned pioneer in the field of modern sociolinguistics, this volume examines the cognitive and cultural factors responsible for linguistic change, tracing the life history of these developments, from triggering events to driving forces and endpoints.
This second edition of a seminal work examines four decades of advancements in sociolinguistics, highlighting key findings and contributions made by William Labov. It delves into the evolution of language use within social contexts, offering insights into dialect variation and the relationship between language and identity. Labov's reflections on his research journey underscore the significance of sociolinguistics in understanding human communication and social dynamics.
The Atlas of North American English provides an overall view of the pronunciation and vowel systems of the dialects of the U.S. and Canada. It is based on a telephone survey of local speakers representing all of the urbanized areas of North America.
This classic volume, by a well-known linguist, constitutes a systematic introduction to sociolinguistics, unmatched in the clarity and forcefulness of its approach, and to the study of language in its social setting.