John Benjamins Publishing Company
The dynamics of variation in individuals
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Abstract
This paper examines the factors conditioning the production of linguistic variables in real time by individual speakers: what we term the dynamics of variation in individuals. We propose a framework that recognizes three types of factors conditioning variation: sociostylistic, internal linguistic, and psychophysiological. We develop two main points against this background. The first is that sequences of variants produced by individuals display systematic patterns that can be understood in terms of sociostylistic conditioning and psychophysiological conditioning. The second is that psychophysiological conditioning and internal linguistic conditioning are distinct in their mental implementations; this claim has implications for understanding the locality of the factors conditioning alternations, the universality and language-specificity of variation, and the general question of whether grammar and language use are distinct. Questions about the dynamics of variation in individuals are set against community-centered perspectives to argue that findings in the two domains, though differing in explanatory focus, can ultimately be mutually informative.
Abstract
This paper examines the factors conditioning the production of linguistic variables in real time by individual speakers: what we term the dynamics of variation in individuals. We propose a framework that recognizes three types of factors conditioning variation: sociostylistic, internal linguistic, and psychophysiological. We develop two main points against this background. The first is that sequences of variants produced by individuals display systematic patterns that can be understood in terms of sociostylistic conditioning and psychophysiological conditioning. The second is that psychophysiological conditioning and internal linguistic conditioning are distinct in their mental implementations; this claim has implications for understanding the locality of the factors conditioning alternations, the universality and language-specificity of variation, and the general question of whether grammar and language use are distinct. Questions about the dynamics of variation in individuals are set against community-centered perspectives to argue that findings in the two domains, though differing in explanatory focus, can ultimately be mutually informative.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Locating variation in the dative alternation 1
- An extension of the comparative sociolinguistics approach for sociosyntax 33
- Variant-centered variation and the like conspiracy 71
- Constant effects and the independence of variants in controlled judgment data 97
- Variation as a testing ground for grammatical theory 117
- The dynamics of variation in individuals 151
- Index of Languages and Varieties 189
- Subject index 191
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction vii
- Locating variation in the dative alternation 1
- An extension of the comparative sociolinguistics approach for sociosyntax 33
- Variant-centered variation and the like conspiracy 71
- Constant effects and the independence of variants in controlled judgment data 97
- Variation as a testing ground for grammatical theory 117
- The dynamics of variation in individuals 151
- Index of Languages and Varieties 189
- Subject index 191
