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
About the author
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.
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