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  • This Element contains inline audio. In case of playback issues, you can also find the audio files here.
  • Cited by 4
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
July 2023
Print publication year:
2023
Online ISBN:
9781009340922
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009340922
Series:
Elements in Sociolinguistics
Subjects:
Sociolinguistics, Language and Linguistics
Information

Book description

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. Interviews with strangers are the backbone of this research: the ten American English speakers appearing here were all strangers to the interviewer at the time. They were selected as among the most memorable, from thousands of interviews across six decades. The speakers express their ideas and concerns in the language of everyday life, dealing with their way of earning a living, getting along with neighbors, raising a family – all  matters in which their language serves them well. These people speak for themselves. And you will hear their voices. What they have to say is a monument to the richness and variety of the American vernacular, offering a tour of the studies that have built the field of sociolinguistics.

References

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