Principles of Linguistic Change, Volume 1: Internal Factors: v. 1 (Language in Society) - Hardcover

Labov, William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0631179135 ISBN 13: 9780631179139

Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell, 1994

Synopsis

Combining studies of living communities with examinations of historical records of completed changes, this book traces the general principles of chain shifting within and across vowel systems, as well as the principles that govern mergers and splits. Labov uses evidence from sociolinguistics and dialect geography to provide responses to the controversies initiated by the neo-grammarians. Though lexical diffusion can be located in changes of membership in abstract categories such as "long" and "short", the main agent of linguistic change, Labov argues, is regular sound change that proceeds without regard to the preservation of meaning. Change in sound can lead to confusion and the disruption of dialect systems. The findings presented here on the asymmetry of production and perception explain the historical continuity of word classes when the semantic function of contrast is suspended.

About this title

Review

"This volume represents the remarkable achievements of one of the leading linguistics of the twentieth century. Almost uniquely... Labov has demonstrated the social as well as cognitive relevance of linguistic research." Elizabeth C. Traugott and Scott A. Schwenter, Stanford University

From the Back Cover

This book develops the general principles of linguistic change that form the foundations of historical linguistics, dialectology and sociolinguistics. It is concerned with the factors that govern the internal development of linguistic structures: the mechanisms of change, the constraints on change, and the ways in which change is embedded in the larger linguistic system. While it is generally believed that linguistic change is a product of earlier times, and that local dialects are disappearing, this work shows that rapid change is in progress in the cities of America and England, so that urban dialects are becoming more and more differentiated. Instrumental studies of these changes develop a new view of phonological space which allows the resolution of long–standing paradoxes of historical linguistics. The book then develops the general principles governing mergers and splits, which alter linguistic structure.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley–Blackwell
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0631179135
• ISBN 13: 9780631179139
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 384