The Social Stratification of English in New York City, Second Edition

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 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Introductory note to the first edition 9 Preface to the first edition 10 Preface to the second edition: forty years later 13 Part I Problems and methods of analysis 15 1 The study of language in its social context 17 The study of linguistic structure 18 Some earlier restrictions on linguistic study 20 Some earlier studies of language in its social context 25 2 First approach to the structure of New York City English 32 Results of the exploratory interviews 41 Resolution of the problem 44 The five phonological variables 47 The problem of stylistic variation 51 The problem of social variation 52 3 The social stratification of (r) in New York City department stores 54 The method 59 Overall stratification of (r) 60 The effect of other independent variables 63 Differentiation by age of the informants 67 Some possible sources of error 68 Conclusion 69 4 The isolation of contextual styles 72 The problem of casual speech 78 Channel cues for casual speech 86 The array of stylistic variation 88 The structure of stylistic variation 98 5 The linguistic interview 101 The interview situation 102 The questionnaire 105 Interviewing several members of the household 109 6 The survey of the Lower East Side 110 The selection of the area 111 Procedures of the MFY survey 114 A view of the Lower East Side 116 The ALS survey population 121 Selection of native speakers 124 The ALS sample population 127 The ALS television interview 129 Characteristics of the ALS respondents 131 Redefinition of “native speaker” and “New Yorker” 132 Class distribution of the ALS respondents 133 Ethnic distribution of the ALS respondents 135 Interviewing other members of the household 138 Summary of possible sources of error 138 Part II Social differentiation 141 7 Class differentiation of the variables 143 Social class as a measure of social stratification 143 Two approaches to social variation in language 144 The socio-economic class index 146 Class stratification of the five variables 155 The possible relations of class to language 162 The social structure of (r) 163 The social structure of (th) and (dh) 168 The deviant case of Nathan B. 171 The social structure of (æh) 176 The social structure of (oh) 177 The hypothesis of real deviation 182 Evidence of the out-of-town informants 183 Summary 183 8 Further analysis of the variables 185 The logical ordering of the independent variables in time 186 Education of respondent as an independent variable 187 Occupation of respondent as an independent variable 189 Occupation and education combined 190 Ethnic group as an independent variable 194 Relation of ethnic membership to (oh) 200 Relations of ethnic groups to socio-economic class 204 Jewish and Italian differences for other variables 208 Comparison of men and women 210 Temporal relations of the variables 211 9 Distribution of the variables in apparent time 213 Methods for the synchronic study of change 214 The relative stability of class patterns 216 The possible relations of apparent time and real time 217 The distribution of the population by age 223 A case of stigmatization: the upgliding vowel of third 227 The distribution of (r) in apparent time 231 Comparison with the department store survey 236 The distribution of (æh) and (oh) in apparent time 240 The distribution of (th) and (dh) in apparent time 247 Summary 253 10 Other linguistic variables 255 The mid-central vowel in her 255 The social distribution of (ay) and (aw) 258 A case of stigmatization without change: unstressed (ing) 268 Part III Social evaluation 277 11 Subjective evaluation of the variables 279 The zero pattern 286 Subjective reactions to (oh) 287 Subjective reactions to (æh) 293 Subjective reactions to (r) 297 Subjective reactions to (th) and (dh) 303 Further analysis of (r) response 306 The convergence of social differentiation and social evaluation 310 12 Self-evaluation and linguistic security 314 The self-evaluation test 314 Self-evaluation for (r) 316 Self-evaluation for (æh) and (oh) 323 The case of Mrs. Mollie S. 327 Self-evaluation for (th) and (dh) 329 Self-evaluation for (her) and (hurt) 329 The index of linguistic insecurity 331 The case of Emilio D. 335 Summary 336 13 General attitudes towards the speech of New York City 338 Methods and the population studied 339 Recognition of New Yorkers by outsiders 341 Opinions on how outsiders view New York City speech 341 Views of the out-of-town ALS informants 342 Attitudes of New York respondents towards New York speech 343 Informants’ dislike of their own speech; pressure from above 344 Pressures from below 345 Differences in linguistic attitudes of various sub-groups 348 The negative prestige of New York City speech 352 Summary 353 Part IV Synthesis 357 14 The structure of the NewYork City vowel system 359 Co-variation of (h) and (oh) 362 Co-variation of (ay) and (aw) 364 Co-variation of (ah) with (oh) 367 Correlation of (æh), (oh) and (ah) 372 Merger of /ih/ and /æh/, /uh/ and /oh/ 374 The upgliding vowels 375 Vowel systems in formal styles 377 The structure of stylistic patterns 380 The three-dimensional structure of stylistic variation 381 Class stratification of the New York City vowel system 384 Developments of the three-dimensional structure in real time 386 The mechanism of linguistic change 391 15 1966–2006 394 1967 Detroit: Roger Shuy, Walt Wolfram, and William K. Riley 395 1968 Harlem: William Labov, Paul Cohen, Clarence Robins, John Lewis 395 1972 Philadelphia: Thomas Cofer 396 (1972) Montreal: Gillian Sankoff, David Sankoff and Henrietta Cedergren 397 1973 Panama City: Henrietta Cedergren 397 1973 Glasgow: Ronald K. S. Macaulay and Gavin Trevelyan 398 1974 Norwich: Peter Trudgill 398 (1977) Philadelphia: William Labov, Matthew Lennig, Donald Hindle, Arvilla Payne, Anne Bower, Elizabeth Dayton, Gregory Guy 399 1978 Buenos Aires: Beatriz Lavandera 399 1978 Teheran: Yahya Modaressi 400 1978 Paris: Matthew Lennig 400 1979 Anniston, Alabama: Crawford Feagin 401 1979 Ottawa: Howard Woods 401 1979 Buenos Aires: Clara Wolf and Elena Jiménez 402 1980 Rio de Janeiro: Anthony Naro et al. 402 1980 Belfast: Lesley and James Milroy 402 1981 Amman: Hassan Abdel-Jawad 402 1982 Ottawa-Hull: Shana Poplack 403 1982 Rio de Janeiro: Solange de Azambuja Lira 403 1983 São Paolo: Fernando Tarallo 404 1983 Belo Horizonte, Brazil: Marco de Oliveira 404 1983 San Pedro Sula, Honduras: Alma Leticia Lopez Scott 404 1985 Sydney: Barbara Horvath 404 1988 Tokyo: Junko Hibiya 405 1991 Cairo: Nilofaar Haeri (published 1996) 406 1991 Cairo: R. Kirk Belknap 406 1991 Seoul: Yunsook Hong 406 1991 Lille: Anne Lefebvre 407 1991 Copenhagen: Frans Gregerson and Inge Lise Pederson 407 1994 Milton Keynes: Paul Kerswill and Ann Williams 407 1995 Seoul: Seo-Yong Chae 408 1995 Tokyo: Kenjiro Matsuda 408 1998 Memphis: Valerie Fridland 408 2004 Montreal: Charles Boberg 409 2005 L’Aquila: Christopher Cieri 409 2006 Charleston, South Carolina: Maciej Baranowski 409 2006 North America: William Labov, Sharon Ash, Charles Boberg 410 Where are we heading? 411 Glossary of linguistic symbols and terminology 418 I Brackets, parentheses, and virgules 418 II Phonetic symbols 418 III Values of the variables 418 IV Standard linguistic terms and terms defined in this study 419 Appendix A Questionnaire for the ALS Survey 423 I. “Some information on your language background” 423 II. Lexicon: traditional 425 III. Folklore 427 IV. Semantics and Syntax 429 V. Pronunciation. [text of readings on the following pages] 430 VI. Subjective evaluation 433 VII. Linguistic attitudes 434 VIII. Variant pronunciations. 435 IX. Form for self-evaluation test and index of linguistic insecurity 436 Appendix B Anonymous observations of casual speech 437 I. The punch-ball game 437 II. The lunch counter 442 Appendix C Analysis of losses through moving of the MFY sample population 444 Local status of the moved population 446 Assessment of the effects of losses through moving 449 Appendix D Analysis of the non-respondents: the television interview 451 Characteristics of the non-respondents 451 Analysis of the television interview 453 Summary 461 Questionnaire for the Television Interview 462 A. Introduction 462 B. Elicitation of particular forms 462 C. General conversation 463 D. To determine regional background of informant 463 E. To determine occupation of informant [to follow B. 7] 463 Appendix E The out-of-town speakers 464 Subjective reactions of out-of-town respondents 472 Bibliography 476 Index 487 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