Principles of Linguistic Change, Volume 2: Social Factors

by William Labov

This volume presents the long-anticipated results of several decades of inquiry into the social origins and social motivation of linguistic change.

Genres: Linguistics, Language

592 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

William Labov was an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics, and "one of the most influential linguists of the 20th and 21st centuries".
Labov was a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and pursued research in sociolinguistics, language change, and dialectology. He retired in 2015 but continued to publish research until his death in 2024.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Labov book to own - his most unified discussion of sound change, bringing together most of his life's work.