The social stratification of English in New York City

One of the first accounts of social variation in language, this groundbreaking study founded the discipline of sociolinguistics, providing the model on which thousands of studies have been based. In this second edition, Labov looks back on forty years of sociolinguistic research, bringing the reader up to date on its methods, findings and achievements. In over thirty pages of new material, he explores the unforeseen implications of his earlier work, addresses the political issues involved, and evaluates the success of newer approaches to sociolinguistic investigation. In doing so, he reveals the outstanding accomplishments of sociolinguistics since his original study, which laid the foundations for studying language variation, introduced the crucial concept of the linguistic variable, and showed how variation across age groups is an indicator of language change. Bringing Labov's pioneering study into the 21st century, this classic volume will remain the benchmark in the field for years to come. Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Introductory note to the first edition......Page 9 Preface to the first edition......Page 10 Preface to the second edition: forty years later......Page 13 Part I Problems and methods of analysis......Page 15 1 The study of language in its social context......Page 17 The study of linguistic structure......Page 18 Some earlier restrictions on linguistic study......Page 20 Some earlier studies of language in its social context......Page 25 2 First approach to the structure of New York City English......Page 32 Results of the exploratory interviews......Page 41 Resolution of the problem......Page 44 The five phonological variables......Page 47 The problem of stylistic variation......Page 51 The problem of social variation......Page 52 3 The social stratification of (r) in New York City department stores......Page 54 The method......Page 59 Overall stratification of (r)......Page 60 The effect of other independent variables......Page 63 Differentiation by age of the informants......Page 67 Some possible sources of error......Page 68 Conclusion......Page 69 4 The isolation of contextual styles......Page 72 The problem of casual speech......Page 78 Channel cues for casual speech......Page 86 The array of stylistic variation......Page 88 The structure of stylistic variation......Page 98 5 The linguistic interview......Page 101 The interview situation......Page 102 The questionnaire......Page 105 Interviewing several members of the household......Page 109 6 The survey of the Lower East Side......Page 110 The selection of the area......Page 111 Procedures of the MFY survey......Page 114 A view of the Lower East Side......Page 116 The ALS survey population......Page 121 Selection of native speakers......Page 124 The ALS sample population......Page 127 The ALS television interview......Page 129 Characteristics of the ALS respondents......Page 131 Redefinition of “native speaker” and “New Yorker”......Page 132 Class distribution of the ALS respondents......Page 133 Ethnic distribution of the ALS respondents......Page 135 Summary of possible sources of error......Page 138 Part II Social differentiation......Page 141 Social class as a measure of social stratification......Page 143 Two approaches to social variation in language......Page 144 The socio-economic class index......Page 146 Class stratification of the five variables......Page 155 The possible relations of class to language......Page 162 The social structure of (r)......Page 163 The social structure of (th) and (dh)......Page 168 The deviant case of Nathan B.......Page 171 The social structure of (æh)......Page 176 The social structure of (oh)......Page 177 The hypothesis of real deviation......Page 182 Summary......Page 183 8 Further analysis of the variables......Page 185 The logical ordering of the independent variables in time......Page 186 Education of respondent as an independent variable......Page 187 Occupation of respondent as an independent variable......Page 189 Occupation and education combined......Page 190 Ethnic group as an independent variable......Page 194 Relation of ethnic membership to (oh)......Page 200 Relations of ethnic groups to socio-economic class......Page 204 Jewish and Italian differences for other variables......Page 208 Comparison of men and women......Page 210 Temporal relations of the variables......Page 211 9 Distribution of the variables in apparent time......Page 213 Methods for the synchronic study of change......Page 214 The relative stability of class patterns......Page 216 The possible relations of apparent time and real time......Page 217 The distribution of the population by age......Page 223 A case of stigmatization: the upgliding vowel of third......Page 227 The distribution of (r) in apparent time......Page 231 Comparison with the department store survey......Page 236 The distribution of (æh) and (oh) in apparent time......Page 240 The distribution of (th) and (dh) in apparent time......Page 247 Summary......Page 253 The mid-central vowel in her......Page 255 The social distribution of (ay) and (aw)......Page 258 A case of stigmatization without change: unstressed (ing)......Page 268 Part III Social evaluation......Page 277 11 Subjective evaluation of the variables......Page 279 The zero pattern......Page 286 Subjective reactions to (oh)......Page 287 Subjective reactions to (æh)......Page 293 Subjective reactions to (r)......Page 297 Subjective reactions to (th) and (dh)......Page 303 Further analysis of (r) response......Page 306 The convergence of social differentiation and social evaluation......Page 310 The self-evaluation test......Page 314 Self-evaluation for (r)......Page 316 Self-evaluation for (æh) and (oh)......Page 323 The case of Mrs. Mollie S.......Page 327 Self-evaluation for (her) and (hurt)......Page 329 The index of linguistic insecurity......Page 331 The case of Emilio D.......Page 335 Summary......Page 336 13 General attitudes towards the speech of New York City......Page 338 Methods and the population studied......Page 339 Opinions on how outsiders view New York City speech......Page 341 Views of the out-of-town ALS informants......Page 342 Attitudes of New York respondents towards New York speech......Page 343 Informants’ dislike of their own speech; pressure from above......Page 344 Pressures from below......Page 345 Differences in linguistic attitudes of various sub-groups......Page 348 The negative prestige of New York City speech......Page 352 Summary......Page 353 Part IV Synthesis......Page 357 14 The structure of the NewYork City vowel system......Page 359 Co-variation of (h) and (oh)......Page 362 Co-variation of (ay) and (aw)......Page 364 Co-variation of (ah) with (oh)......Page 367 Correlation of (æh), (oh) and (ah)......Page 372 Merger of /ih/ and /æh/, /uh/ and /oh/......Page 374 The upgliding vowels......Page 375 Vowel systems in formal styles......Page 377 The structure of stylistic patterns......Page 380 The three-dimensional structure of stylistic variation......Page 381 Class stratification of the New York City vowel system......Page 384 Developments of the three-dimensional structure in real time......Page 386 The mechanism of linguistic change......Page 391 15 1966–2006......Page 394 1968 Harlem: William Labov, Paul Cohen, Clarence Robins, John Lewis......Page 395 1972 Philadelphia: Thomas Cofer......Page 396 1973 Panama City: Henrietta Cedergren......Page 397 1974 Norwich: Peter Trudgill......Page 398 1978 Buenos Aires: Beatriz Lavandera......Page 399 1978 Paris: Matthew Lennig......Page 400 1979 Ottawa: Howard Woods......Page 401 1981 Amman: Hassan Abdel-Jawad......Page 402 1982 Rio de Janeiro: Solange de Azambuja Lira......Page 403 1985 Sydney: Barbara Horvath......Page 404 1988 Tokyo: Junko Hibiya......Page 405 1991 Seoul: Yunsook Hong......Page 406 1994 Milton Keynes: Paul Kerswill and Ann Williams......Page 407 1998 Memphis: Valerie Fridland......Page 408 2006 Charleston, South Carolina: Maciej Baranowski......Page 409 2006 North America: William Labov, Sharon Ash, Charles Boberg......Page 410 Where are we heading?......Page 411 III Values of the variables......Page 418 IV Standard linguistic terms and terms defined in this study......Page 419 I. “Some information on your language background”......Page 423 II. Lexicon: traditional......Page 425 III. Folklore......Page 427 IV. Semantics and Syntax......Page 429 V. Pronunciation. [text of readings on the following pages]......Page 430 VI. Subjective evaluation......Page 433 VII. Linguistic attitudes......Page 434 VIII. Variant pronunciations.......Page 435 IX. Form for self-evaluation test and index of linguistic insecurity......Page 436 I. The punch-ball game......Page 437 II. The lunch counter......Page 442 Appendix C Analysis of losses through moving of the MFY sample population......Page 444 Local status of the moved population......Page 446 Assessment of the effects of losses through moving......Page 449 Characteristics of the non-respondents......Page 451 Analysis of the television interview......Page 453 Summary......Page 461 B. Elicitation of particular forms......Page 462 E. To determine occupation of informant [to follow B. 7]......Page 463 Appendix E The out-of-town speakers......Page 464 Subjective reactions of out-of-town respondents......Page 472 Bibliography......Page 476 Index......Page 487