Abstract
One aim of sociolinguistics is to understand linguistic variation across communities by comparing
language from different groups of speakers (e.g. younger and older, male and female, working class
and middle class). However, language is not only constrained by these social factors, but also by the
linguistic system itself. In this chapter, we show that although the name sociophonetics might imply
that the focus of the discipline is on sociolinguistics and phonetics, we also need to understand how
variation can be constrained by language internal phonological concerns. First we elaborate on the
distinction between phonological and social factors in sociophonetics. Then we show that since
phonological criteria are crucial even in defining what our variable is, understanding these criteria is
important at the very beginning of a sociophonetic project. Using examples from different varieties of
English, we answer two general questions: (1) What phonological concerns should we consider when
analyzing a linguistic variable, and (2) How should we go about investigating them? Finally, we offer
advice to anyone wishing to undertake a sociophonetic study which takes phonological factors into
account.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Research Methods in Sociolinguistics |
| Subtitle of host publication | A Practical Guide |
| Editors | Janet Holmes, Kirk Hazen |
| Place of Publication | Oxford |
| Publisher | Wiley-Blackwell |
| Pages | 136–148 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-470-67360-7 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |