Startseite Linguistik & Semiotik 31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation
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31 Community-based sociolinguistic variation

  • Kayla Palakurthy
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Abstract

Linguistic variation is found in all living languages, and sociolinguistic research reveals how variants can carry social meaning and reflect ongoing linguistic changes. Attitudes towards such linguistic heterogeneity may vary significantly within and across speech communities, with implications for how variants are evaluated and presented in pedagogical contexts. This chapter presents findings from representative studies of sociolinguistic variation in North American languages, alongside those analyzing attitudes towards variation. When considered together, this body of work reveals that the demographic categories of age, region, and gender meaningfully pattern with some language-internal lexical, phonological, and grammatical variation, and research shows that an increased understanding of sociolinguistic variation can inform community- based language projects. Beyond their potential relevance to maintenance and reclamation efforts, these studies expand the typological diversity of the field of sociolinguistics by including communities representing different sociocultural contexts than those that are typically the focus of sociolinguistic research.

Abstract

Linguistic variation is found in all living languages, and sociolinguistic research reveals how variants can carry social meaning and reflect ongoing linguistic changes. Attitudes towards such linguistic heterogeneity may vary significantly within and across speech communities, with implications for how variants are evaluated and presented in pedagogical contexts. This chapter presents findings from representative studies of sociolinguistic variation in North American languages, alongside those analyzing attitudes towards variation. When considered together, this body of work reveals that the demographic categories of age, region, and gender meaningfully pattern with some language-internal lexical, phonological, and grammatical variation, and research shows that an increased understanding of sociolinguistic variation can inform community- based language projects. Beyond their potential relevance to maintenance and reclamation efforts, these studies expand the typological diversity of the field of sociolinguistics by including communities representing different sociocultural contexts than those that are typically the focus of sociolinguistic research.

Heruntergeladen am 23.9.2025 von https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110600926-031/html
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