Explanations in Sociosyntactic Variation (Studies in Language Variation and Change)

Cambridge University Press
Edition: New, 1/20/2022
EAN 9781108492843, ISBN10: 1108492843

Hardcover, 250 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm
Language: English
Originally published in English

What explains variation in human language? How are linguistic and social factors related? How do we examine possible semantic differences between variants? These questions and many more are explored in this volume, which examines syntactic variables in a range of languages. It brings together a team of internationally acclaimed authors to provide perspectives on how and why syntax varies between and within speakers, focusing on explaining theoretical backgrounds and methods. The analyses presented are based on a range of languages, making it possible to address the questions from a cross-linguistic perspective. All chapters demonstrate rigorous quantitative analyses, which expose the conditioning factors in language change as well as offering important insights into community and individual grammars. It is essential reading for researchers and students with an interest in language variation and change, and the theoretical framework and methods applied in the study of how and why syntax varies.

1. When syntactic variables are compared Sali Tagliamonte
2. Mapping syntax and the sociolinguistic monitor Jennifer Smith, Sophie Holmes-Elliott
3. A Columbia School perspective on explanation in morphosyntactic variation Ricardo Otheguy, Naomi Lapidus Shin
4. On the inevitability of social meaning and ideology in accounts of syntactic change
Evidence from pronoun competition in Netherlandic Dutch Stefan Grondelaers Paul van Gent , and Roeland van Hout
5. About the predictability of social stratification of syntactic variants Leonie Cornips
6. When variants lack semantic equivalence
Adverbial subclause word order Tanya Karoli Christensen Torben Juel Jensen
Index.