Variationist Sociolinguistics: Change, Observation, Interpretation presents a comprehensive, intermediate level examination of Language Variation and Change, the branch of sociolinguistics concerned with linguistic variation in spoken and written language.* Represents the most up-to-date coverage of the history, developments, and methodologies of variationist sociolinguistics* Addresses all aspects of linguistic variation, including areas not usually covered in introductory texts, e.g. the phonological, morpho-syntactic, discourse/pragmatic* Outlines comparative sociolinguistic approach, data collection, methodological issues; and addresses state-of-the-art contemporary quantitative methods and statistical practice* Features cutting-edge research at an appropriate level to facilitate student learning* Engages students throughout with a variety of pedagogical features, including Mini Quizzes to test comprehension, extensive Exercises at the end of each chapter, the opportunity to do hands-on quantitative analysis of a never-before published data set, and Notes and Tips that offer insight into conducting sociolinguistic research. Extra materials and answers to the exercises are available at wiley.com/go/tagliamonte

AcknowledgmentsForewordSeries Editor's PrefacePrefaceList of FiguresList of Tables1. Sociolinguistics as Language Variation and Change2. Social Patterns3. Linguistic Patterns4. Data and Method5. Quantitative Analysis6. Comparative Sociolinguistics7. Phonological Variables8. Morpho-Syntactic Variables9. Discourse/Pragmatic Features10. Tense/Aspect Variables11. Other Variables12. Sociolinguistic ExplanationsAppendix A: Corpora CitedAppendix B: Time Periods in the History of EnglishReferencesSubject IndexIndex of Linguistic Variables