Principles of Linguistic Change
Volume III: Cognitive and Cultural Factors
Published on 15. October 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
448 pages
978-1-4051-1214-7 (ISBN)
Description
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.
* Explores the major insights obtained by combining sociolinguistics with the results of dialect geography on a large scale
* Examines the cognitive and cultural influences responsible for linguistic change
* Demonstrates under what conditions dialects diverge from one another
* Establishes an essential distinction between transmission within the community and diffusion across communities
* Completes Labov's seminal Principles of Linguistic Change trilogy
Reviews / Votes
"The culminating volume in Labov's magnum opus on language variation and change will assure forever his indelible imprint on the field of linguistics. Thanks to Labov, the field should never be the same."- Walt Wolfram, North Carolina State University "William Labov completes his monumental study of sound change by examining the forces that drive divergence and convergence in neighboring communities. His impeccable attention to detail is illuminated, as always, by his sensitivity to the social, communal and personal motives that lie behind the ways in which we talk to one another."
- J.K. Chambers, University of Toronto
"Labov's inexhaustible creative wellspring produces a fountain of insight and essential reading for all scholars concerned with language as a dynamic social organism. This volume assembles elements of his work into a grand mosaic: a work of science, but also a work of art."
- Gregory R. Guy, New York University
More details
Series
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Hoboken
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
645 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4051-1214-7 (9781405112147)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
07/2011
Wiley-Blackwell
€36.99
Available for download
Book
10/2010
Wiley
€126.50
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
E-Book
08/2010
Wiley-Blackwell
€36.99
Available for download
Person
William Labov is Professor of Linguistics and Director of the Linguistics Laboratory, University of Pennsylvania. His major studies include The Social Stratification of English in New York City (1966), Sociolinguistic Patterns (1972), Language in the Inner City (1972), Principles of Linguistic Change: Internal Factors (Wiley-Blackwell, 1994) and Principles of Linguistic Change, Volume 2: Social Factors (Wiley-Blackwell, 2001). With S. Ash and C. Boberg, he published the Atlas of North American English in 2006.
Content
Forward.
Chapter 1. Cognitive and cultural factors in linguistic change.
Part A. Cross dialectal comprehension.
Chapter 2. Natural misunderstandings.
Chapter 3. A controlled experiment on vowel identification.
Chapter 4. The gating experiments.
Part B. The life history of linguistic change.
Chapter 5. Triggering events.
Chapter 6. Governing principles.
Chapter 7. Forks in the road.
Chapter 8. Divergence.
Chapter 9. Driving forces.
Chapter 10. Yankee cultural imperialism and the Northern Cities Shift.
Chapter 11. Social evaluation of the Northern Cities Shift.
Chapter 12. Endpoints.
Part C. The unit of linguistic change.
Chapter 13. Words floating on the surface of sound change.
Chapter 14. The binding force in linguistic change.
Part D. Transmission and diffusion.
Chapter 15 The diffusion of language from place to place.
Chapter 16. The diffusion of language from group to group.
Chapter 17. Conclusion.