Locating Language in Time and Space

291 Pages·264.564 MB·

by  William Labov (editor)

LOCATING LANGUAGE IN TIME AND SPACE
Edited by William Labov Department of Linguistics University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia , Pennsylvania
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Univ . Library , Univ . Calif . , Santa Cruz
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United Kingdom Edition published by ACADEMIC PRESS , INC . ( LONDON ) LTD . 24 / 28 Oval Road , London Nwi TDX
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title :
Locating language in time and space .
( Quantitative analyses of linguistic structure series )
Includes bibliographies and index .
1 . Language and languages - - Variation . 2 . Linguistic change . I . Labov , William . II . Series . P120 . V37L6 410 80 - 24396 ISBN 0 - 12 - 432101 - 1
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
80 81 82 83
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
CONTENTS 120
A
137 L6
List of Contributors
Preface
Introduction
xiii
VARIATION IN THE GROUP AND THE INDIVIDUAL :
THE CASE OF FINAL STOP DELETION
Gregory R . Guy
Introduction
Background
Final Stop Deletion : A Typical Variable Rule
The / t , d / Deletion Rule and the Study of Variation
The Output of the Cedergren - Sankoff Program
Analytical Methodology
Analysis and Discussion
Conclusions
References
RANKING OF CONSTRAINTS ON / t , d / DELETION
IN AMERICAN ENGLISH : A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
Helene Neu
Introduction
The Data
Preliminary Statistical Considerations
Results and Discussion
Conclusion
References
vi : CONTENTS
THE NOTION OF THE PLURAL IN PUERTO RICAN
SPANISH : COMPETING CONSTRAINTS ON
( s ) DELETION
Shana Poplack
Introduction
The Sample
The Analysis
Results
Discussion
References
A QUANTITATIVE STUDY OF SYNTACTIC AND
PRAGMATIC INDICATIONS OF CHANGE IN THE
SPANISH OF BILINGUALS IN THE U . S .
Flora Klein
Introduction
The Study : General Hypothesis
Specific Hypothesis
References
A REEXAMINATION OF THE BLACK ENGLISH COPULA
John Baugh
Introduction
The BEV Copula : A Brief Review of Previous Research
The Present Analysis
The Analytic Procedure
The Comparable Calculations
The Phonological Constraints
The Question of Weightings
The Grammatical Constraints
Some Historical Implications
Conclusion
References
103
105
107
a - PREFIXING IN APPALACHIAN ENGLISH
Walt Wolfram
Introduction
The Sample
107
108
CONTENTS
Syntactic Properties of a - Prefixed Forms
Phonological Constraints of a - Prefixing
Semantic Aspects of a - Prefixing
References
109
124
133
141
143
FACTORS CONTROLLING THE ACQUISITION OF
THE PHILADELPHIA DIALECT BY OUT - OF - STATE
CHILDREN
Arvilla C . Payne
Introduction
Phonetic Variables
The Short - a Patterns
Conclusion
Appendix
References
143
149
156
174
175
177
179
THE STRUCTURE OF A LONG - TERM PHONOLOGICAL
PROCESS : THE BACK VOWEL CHAIN SHIFT IN
SOULATAN GASCON
Penelope Eckert
Introduction
The Vowels of France
Soulatan Vowels
The Form of the Chain Shift
References
179
181
192
206
218
221
221
223
226
A FALSELY REPORTED MERGER IN EIGHTEENTH - CENTURY
ENGLISH : A STUDY IN DIACHRONIC VARIATION
Geoffrey Nunberg
Introduction
Some Explanations of Apparent Mergers
Another Explanation for Reported Mergers
A Model for Reversal of Merger
Application of the Model to the Line - Loin Merger
Testimony on the Loin - Line Merger
Formulation of the Centralization Rules
Reports of Merger : Chronology and Social Evaluation
Conclusion
References
Grammars and Dictionaries in Chronological Order
227
230
232
240
245
248
249
250
viii ; CONTENTS
251
-
- . . .
251
THE SOCIAL ORIGINS OF SOUND CHANGE
William Labov
Introduction
The Measurement of Sound Change
Social Stratification
Further Directions of Explanation
References
-
255
258
260
264
Subject Index
267
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
Numbers in parentheses indicate the pages on which authors ' contributions begin .
John Baugh ( 83 ) , DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS , UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS , AUSTIN ,
TEXAS 78712 Penelope Eckert ( 179 ) , DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY , UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ,
ANN ARBOR , MICHIGAN 48104 Gregory R . Guy , ( 1 ) , * DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS , UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYL
VANIA , PHILADELPHIA , PENNSYLVANIA 19104 Flora Klein ( 69 ) , SCHOOL OF LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS , GEORGETOWN UNIVER
SITY , WASHINGTON , D . C . 20057 William Labov ( 251 ) , DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS , UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ,
PHILADELPHIA , PENNSYLVANIA 19104 Helene Neu , ( 37 ) , SPEECH COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH LABORATORY , LOS ANGELES ,
CALIFORNIA 90007 ; AND DEPARTMENT OF ROMANCE LANGUAGES , UNIVERSITY OF
MICHIGAN , ANN ARBOR , MICHIGAN 48109 Geoffrey Nunberg ( 24 ) , DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS , UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA ,
LOS ANGELES , CALIFORNIA 90027 Arvilla C . Payne ( 143 ) , DEPARTMENTS OF SOCIOLOGY AND ANTHROPOLOGY , HOWARD
UNIVERSITY , WASHINGTON , D . C . 20059 Shana Poplack ( 55 ) , † DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS , UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ,
PHILADELPHIA , PENNSYLVANIA 19104 Walt Wolfram ( 107 ) , DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION SCIENCES , UNIVERSITY OF
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA , WASHINGTON , D . C . 20001 ; AND CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS , ARLINGTON , VIRGINIA 22209
* Present address : Department of Linguistics , University of Sydney , N . S . W . 2006 , Au stralia .
† Present address : Center for Puerto Rican Studies , City University of New York , New York , New York 10019 .
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PREFACE
This first volume in the series Quantitative Analyses of Linguistic Struc ture is designed to present substantive findings that have emerged from recent research with quantitative techniques . The aim of the series is to publish those results of quantitative work that bear most directly on the fundamental
problems of linguistic change and linguistic structure .
Earlier publications in this field have inevitably been concerned with questions of method . In addition to discussions of new techniques of data reduction and organization , a great deal of effort was expended in ideological discussions as to whether quantitative methods were possible , the place of
quantitative information in a grammar , or even whether human beings could learn to do one thing more often than another . At one point , it seemed that the study of variation would adopt permanently the forensic style that is the lingua franca of the more scholastic areas of linguistics .
This has not happened . The field has matured to the point that the advantages and disadvantages of various methods of treating the data are recognized and related to each other . Researchers are free to concentrate upon the problem that they are confronting rather than on the suitability of the methods
they are using . In the contributions of this volume and in those to come , one will find traditional statistical techniques , variable rule analy ses , implicational scales , and graphic presentation of analyses , and graphic presentations of spatial data .
In general , these analyses and syntheses will be built on linguistic theory as it has emerged over many centuries . The categories and algebras con structed by qualitative analyses are normally the input to the quantitative analysis . The enterprise presented here is conceived as cumulative and pro gressive
. No quantitative revolution is advertised . Rather , we see quantitative methods as the major route for resolving theoretical alternatives in a decisive way .
xii PREFACE :
The emphasis on substantive issues of linguistic theory does not mean that questions of method are no longer relevant . The present growth and development of studies of variation is dependent on its integration into the larger framework of probability theory , and the development of computa tional
methods for resolving complex problems . There is no reason to believe that advances in methods of analysis will not be equally important in the future , and the series will aim to provide source material in this area , includ ing programs and documentation .
The QALS series will publish original papers , longer studies , and book length monographs . The editors invite the submission of research reports in this area for consideration , and hope to provide the space needed to treat each topic in the detail required to substantiate the ideas being put forward .
William Labov
David Sankoff