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Labov in sociolinguistics: An introduction
Author(s) -
Bell Allan,
Sharma Devyani,
Britain David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/josl.12199
Subject(s) - sociolinguistics , linguistics , sociology , style (visual arts) , sociolinguistics of sign languages , language change , sociocultural linguistics , language education , history , comprehension approach , natural language , philosophy , manually coded language , archaeology
This theme issue marks fifty years since the publication of William Labov's Social Stratification of English in New York City , the foundation study of variationist sociolinguistics. This Introduction offers the editors' rationale for the shape of the issue. We briefly survey the innovations and impact of the New York study, together with the subsequent development of the field by Labov and others. We then touch on several strands of Labov's contribution to sociolinguistics: language change, linguistic evaluation, methodological innovation, African American English, language and the individual, and language style. We conclude with a reflection on Labov's commitment to the study of language in society.