HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect

JohnR.Rickford

(ms.January2002,forstudentsinLing73,AAVE,Stanford)

SincewewillbedrawingprimarilyonlinguisticresearchtotellthestoryofAfrican
AmericanVernacularEnglish[AAVE],weneedtoexplainsomeofthepremisesunder
whichlinguistsoperate,thekindsofprincipleswhichareusuallycoveredinthefirstchapter
ofintroductorytextbooksonlinguistics.

Thefirstsuchpremiseisthatlinguisticsisadescriptiveratherthanaprescriptive
discipline.Bythiswemeanthatourobjectiveistodescribethesystematicnatureof
languageasusedbythemembersofparticularspeechcommunitiesratherthantopass
(prescriptive)judgmentsabouthowwelltheyspeakorhowtheyshouldorshouldnotbe
usingtheirlanguage.Thestudyofpeople'sattitudestowardsonevarietyoranotherisan
interestingsubfieldoflinguistics,onewhichcanhelpustounderstandthesocialdistribution
ofdialectsorthedirectionoflanguagechange,andonewhichcanbehelpfulinformulating
policyaboutwhichvarietiestouseintheschoolsandhow.Butevenhere,thelinguistis
primarilydescribingtheattitudesratherthanprescribingwhattheyshouldbe.[Willthisstop
usfromsuggestingthatattitudestowardsAAVEshouldn'tbenegative?]

Asecond,relatedpremiseisthateverynaturallyusedlanguagevarietyissystematic,
withregularrulesandrestrictionsatthelexical,phonologicalandgrammaticallevel.
Althoughnonlinguistssometimesassumethatsomedialectsunusuallynonstandardones
don'thaveanyrules,orthattheyaresimplytheresultoftheirspeakers'laziness,
carelessness,orcussedness,linguistsusuallyfeelquitedifferently,bothonempiricalgrounds
(dialectsalwaysturnouttohaveregularrules),andontheoreticalgrounds.Thetheoretical
reasonisthatthesuccessfulacquisitionanduseofalanguagevarietyinacommunityof
speakerswouldbeimpossibleiflanguagewerenotsystematicandrulegoverned.Ifevery
speakercouldmakeuphisorherownwordsandrulesforpronunciationandgrammar,
communicationbetweendifferentspeakerswouldbevirtuallyimpossible.

Note,too,thatlinguistsusethetermdialectasaneutraltermtorefertothesystematic
usageofagroupofspeakersthoseinaparticularregionorsocialclass,forinstanceand
thatthetermhaswithinlinguisticsnoneofthenegativeconnotationswhichitsometimeshas
ineverydayusage(forinstance,meaning"nonstandard"or"substandard"speech,orthe
speechofpeoplefromotherregionsbesidesone'sown).Everyonespeaksadialectatleast
one.

Thethirdpremiseoflinguisticswhichwethinkitisimportanttoemhasizeisthatin
tryingtounderstandanddescribethesystemofalanguage,wegiveprimaryattentionto
speechratherthanwriting.Oneobviousreasonforthisisthatthewrittenlanguageomits
valuableinformationaboutthepronunciationorsoundsystemofalanguage.Butthereare
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.2

otherreasons,includingthefactthatpeopleallovertheworldlearntospeakbeforethey
learntoreadorwrite,andthefactthatcompetenceinthespokenvarietyofatleastone
languageisuniversaltoallnormalhumanbeings,butliteracyisamorerestrictedskill(in
fact.somelanguagesdonotevenhavewritingsystems).Ofcoursethewrittenlanguageis,
tovaryingextents,relatedtothespokenlanguage.Comparingandcontrastingthetwoisa
fascinatingenterprise,andsomeoftheevidenceaboutAAVEwhichwewillconsiderinthis
bookwillbedrawnfromliterature,assomeoftheexcerptsconsideredabovealready
demonstrate.Butbecausenonlinguistsoftenattachgreaterauthoritytothewrittenrather
thanthespokenword("ifit'sinprint,thenitmustberight")it'simportanttoemphasizethat
linguiststendtomakepreciselytheoppositeassumption.

Thefourthandfinalpremiseoflinguisticsisthatalthoughlanguagesarealways
systematic,variationamongtheirspeakersisabsolutelynormal.Althoughwesometimes
thinkoractasiftherewereoneentitycalledAmericanorBritishEnglishandgrammatical
handbookshelptoreinforcethisfictionweknowfromactualexperiencethatthe"language"
variesfromoneregiontoanother,fromonesocialgrouptoanother,andeven(whenregion
andsocialgroupareheldconstant),fromoneoccasionortopictoanother.

Themostsignificantvariationsordifferenceswithinlanguagesoccuratthelevelof
thelexicon(vocabulary),phonology(pronunciation),grammar(morphologyandsyntax).and
usage.Moreover,theyarenotjustqualitative,inthesensethatdialectAusesonefeature
anddialectBanother,buttheymayalsobequantitative,inthesensethatdialectAusesone
featuremoreoftenthandialectBdoes.(Thisisparticularlytrueofphonologicaland
grammaticalfeatureswhichhavesocialorstylisticsignificance.)Finally,variationmaybe
regional,socialorstylisticinitsorigins,andthemethodsthatlinguistshaveusedtostudy
eachtypedifferslightly.Wewillnowelaborateontheseimportantconceptsandprovide
examples.

Lexicalvariation

Differencesinvocabularyareoneaspectofdialectdiversitywhichpeoplenotice
readilyandcommentonquitefrequently.Theyarecertainlycommonenoughasmarkersof
thedifferencesbetweengeographicalareasorregionsforinstancethefactthat"a
carbonatedsoftdrink"mightbecalledpopintheinlandNorthandtheWestoftheUnited
States,sodaintheNortheast,tonicinEasternNewEngland,andcolddrink,drinkordopein
variouspartsoftheSouth(Carver1987:268).Orthefactthatapersonwhowas"tired"or
exhausted"mightdescribethemselvesasbeingalliniftheywerefromtheNorthorWest,
butworeoutorgiveoutiftheywerefromtheSouth(ibid.:273).Accordingly,lexical
differencesplayasignificantroleinregionaldialectology(thestudyofregionaldialects),
andinpopulartreatmentsofAmericandialectslikethedocumentaryfilmAmerican
Tongues,lexicaldifferencesaregivenprimecoverage.

Lexicaldifferencesarenotassalientindistinguishingthespeechofdifferentsocialor
socioeconomicclasses,andtheyhaveaccordinglyplayedamuchsmallerroleinsocial
dialectology(thestudyofsocialdialects),whichhasconcentratedinsteadondifferencesin
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.3

phonologyandgrammar.Neverthelesstheyarecertainlyanaspectofethnicdifferencesfor
instance,knowledgeofthetermashytodescribethe"whitishorgrayishappearanceofskin
duetoexposuretowindandcold"(Smitherman1994:49)iswidespreadamongAfrican
AmericansbutlesssoamongEuropeanAmericans(Labovetal1968:???)andseveral
dictionariesofAfricanAmericanEnglishhaveappearedoverthepastseveralyears.Lexical
differencesarealsoafactorinstylisticvariation(forinstance,whetheronedescribeoneself
asbeingexhaustedorpooped),andinwhataresometimescalledthe"genderlects"ofmen
versuswomen(forinstance,ithasbeenclaimedthatwomenaremorelikelytodescribean
itemaslovelyordivine).

Oneareawheresocialgroupdifferencesarereflectedstronglyinthelexiconisin
variationaccordingtoagegroup,particularlyintheslangofteenagersandyoungadults.
Accuratedefinitionsofslangareelusive,inpartbecausesomewordsfallmoredecisively
intothiscategorythanothers,butthetermiscommonlyunderstoodtoincludetheinformal
ingroupvocabularyofyoungpeopleornonmainstreamgroups,andtoincludeitemswhich
arerelativelyshortlived(Wolfram1991:4650).Slangisoftenparticularlyrichin
evaluativeterms;forinstanceSmitherman's(1994:9192)entryfordef,areductionof
definitelywhichmeans"great;superb;excellent"liststheseoldersynonyms:boss,mean,
cool,hip,terrible,outasight,monsta,dynamite,andthesenewerones:fresh,hype,jammin,
slammin,kickin,bumpin,humpin,phat,pumpin,stoopidstupid,vicious,down,dope,onand
raw.AlthoughmostofthesetermshaveoriginatedandarebestknownwithintheAfrican
Americancommunity,thepopularityofAfricanAmericanmusicandculturehasalsomade
manyofthemfamiliartoteenagersfromotherethnicgroups,somuchsothattheseandother
slangtermsmight,insomeareas,beconsideredsymbolsofyouthcultureratherthanBlack
culture.However,AfricanAmericanteenagersoftencoinnewingroupslangtermsasfast
astheirformertermsspreadtootherethnicgroups,andthereremainsignificantdifferences
betweentheslangofWhitesandBlacks(T.Labov1992).Atthesametime,someitems
whichoriginateasslangbecomepartoftheinformalvocabularyofolderagegroupsand
eventuallyofthecountryasawhole,forinstancebuck"dollar".

Phonologicalvariation

Phonologicalvariationreferstodifferencesinpronunciationwithinandacross
dialects,forinstancethefactthatpeoplefromNewYorkandNewEnglandmightpronounce
"greasy"withans,whilepeoplefromVirginiaandpointsfurtherSouthmightpronounceit
withaz.OrthefactthatworkingclasspeopleacrosstheUnitedStatesaremorelikelythan
areuppermiddleclassspeakerstopronouncetheinitialthoftheyandsimilarwordswithad.

Phonologicalvariantsarefairlysalientasmarkersofregionaldialect.Forinstance,
thestereotypicalBostonianpronunciationof"ParkyourcarinHarvardyard"asPahkyo'car
inHahvahdyahdincludesnotonlytherlessnessofPahk,yo',Hahvahdandyahd(therincar
isretainedbecausethefollowingwordbeginswithavowel)afeaturesharedwithmany
otherAmericandialects,particularlyintheSouthbutalsothemoredistinctiveuseinthese
wordsofalongmaximallyloworopenfrontvowel[a]whereotherdialectsuseaslightly
fronterandlessopenvowel[](Wells1982:522).Inordertorepresentthepronunciations
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.4

withsomeprecision,linguistsoftenuseaphoneticalphabetinwhicheachdistinguishably
differentsoundisuniquelyrepresentedbyadifferentsymbol,ratherthantherelatively
unphoneticspellingsystemofEnglish,inwhichonesoundisoftenrepresentedbydifferent
spellings(e.g.thesound"sh"representedbyshinsheetbutbytiinnation)anddifferent
soundsbyonespelling(e.g.srepresentsan"s"soundinbetsbuta"z"soundinbeds).
Soundsandwordsrepresentedinphoneticspellingareenclosedinsquarebrackets;akeyto
thephoneticspellingsusedinthisworkisincludedatthebeginningofthisvolume.

Onerelevantaspectofphonologicalvariationworthnotingisthatitisoften
conditionedbythephonologicalenvironmentthatis,byWHEREinautterance(word
initially,wordfinally,beforer,andsoon)thesoundoccurs.We'vealreadyseenone
exampleofthisinthefactthatpostvocalic[r]isnotlostinBostonwhenthenextword
beginswithavowel(thisissometimesreferredtoas"linkingr").Anotherexamplewhichis
relevanttothisvolumeisthefactthatthedistinctionbetween[]and[I]whichisevidentin
pigversuspegandotherwordsislost(orneutralized)inSouthernspeechbeforeafollowing
nasalconsonant,asinpinandpen,bothpronounced[pn].Asaresultofthismerger,
speakerssometimeshavetoclarifywhichwordismeantbyaskingfora"sticking[pn]"
(pin)ratherthana"writing[pn]"(pen).ThisfeatureisalsocharacteristicofAAVEacross
theUnitedStates.

Thepin/penexampleisjustoneexampleofafairlycommonsituationinwhich
phonologicalmergersinonedialectmakehomonyms(twoormorewordswithdifferent
meanings,pronouncedalike)ofwordswhicharekeptapartinotherdialects.Perhapsthe
bestknownexampleofthisisthepronunciationofMary,merryandmarryashomonymsin
theMidland(SouthernPennsylvania,Ohio,andsoon)andmanypartsoftheWest(Reed
1977:31).ConsonantlossarelativelycommonprocessinAAVEisalsoamajorsourceof
mergersandhomonyms(e.g.told,withlossoffinald,becominghomophonouswithtoll).

Phonologicalvariationparticularlyinsofarasitinvolvesconsonantsiscentralto
socialvariationandstylisticvariationtoo,andwewillproviderelevantexamplesbelow.

Grammaticalvariation

Whatwehavebeenreferringtoasgrammaticalvariationreallyinvolvestwosub
types:morphologyandsyntax.Morphologyreferstothestructureorformsofwords,
includingthemorphemesorminimalunitsofmeaningwhichcomprisewords,forinstance
themorphemes{un}"not"and{happy}"happy"inunhappy,orthemorphemes{cat}"cat"
and{s}"plural"incats.Syntaxreferstothestructureoflargerunitslikephrasesand
sentences,includingrulesforcombiningandrelatingwordsinsentences,forinstancethe
rulethatinEnglishyes/noquestions,auxiliariesmustoccuratthebeginningofsentences,
beforethesubjectnounphrase(e.g.Can
Johngo?versusthestatementJohncango).

Onecanfindexamplesofregionalvariationofbothtypes.Forinstance,theform(or
morphology)ofthepasttenseofcatch,climbanddrawwassometimescatched,clumand
drawedrespectivelyinpartsoftheEastbutonlycaught,climbedanddrewrespectivelyinthe
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.5

WesternUS,atleastaccordingtoareportmorethanfortyyearsago(Atwood1953:???).In
themidwestoftheUS(includingWisconsin,OhioandIowa)andotherregions(partsof
Pennsylvania,NewJersey,WestVirginia),onecanuseanymorewiththemeaningof
"nowadays"inpositivesentenceslike"Hesmokesalotanymore,"butintherestofthe
country,anymorecanonlybeusedwiththemeaningof"nolonger"andonlyinnegative
sentences,asin"Hedoesn'tsmokealotanymore"(Labov1973).Perhapsevenmore
dramaticistheuseof"Sodon'tI"inBostonandotherpartsofNewEnglandwhereother
dialectswoulduse"SodoI":

(13) A:Marylikesliver.
B:Sodon'tI(Bostonusagefor"SodoI.").

Bothofthelatterexamplesmightbeclassifiedassyntacticvariation,becausetheyinvolve
relationsbetweenwordswithinoracrosssentences.TheBostonexampleisinasense
morphosyntactic,sinceitinvolvestheformoftheauxiliary(don'tvs.do)followingan
adverb(so)whichexpressesagreementwiththepropositionofaprecedingsentence.
Variationintheformofthepastparticipleafterhaveorhad"Hehadgone"versus"Hehad
went"isalsomorphosyntactic,involvingvariationintheformofthemainverb
(morphology)incombinationwithparticularauxiliaries(syntax).

Grammaticalvariationismuchmorecommonasamarkerofsocialdialectsand
formal/informalstylesthanitisofregionaldialects,withnonstandardorvernacularvariants
sometimesbeingstronglystigmatizedfortheirassociationswithlimitededucationoruseby
thelowerworkingclass,butsimultaneouslybeingstronglyadmiredandadoptedfortheir
connotationsofinformality,masculinityornonpretentiousness.Whetherpositiveor
negative,grammaticalvariablestendtohavestrongsocialmarking.Oneexampleatthelevel
ofmorphologyistheabsenceofthirdpersonpresenttenses,asin"Shelikeliver."(In
thisandotherexampleswewillusethesymboltomarkthepointatwhichanomitted
featuremighthaveoccurred.)ThisfeatureiscommoninworkingclassAAVEinDetroitand
elsewhereintheUS,butitisalsocommoninotherworkingclassEnglishvarieties,for
instanceamongEnglishspeakersinNorwich,asshowninfigure1below.Asyntactic
exampleistheuseofmultiplenegationinAAVEandothervernacularEnglishdialects,with
negationmarkedbothontheauxiliaryverbandontheindefinitenounoradverb,asin"I
didn'tseenobody"versusStandardEnglish,whichpermitsnegativemarkingononlyone
constituent,asin"Ididn'tseeanybody"(negativeverbalauxiliary)or"Isawnobody"
(negativeindefinitenoun).

[NOTE:ALLMAPSANDFIGURESAREATENDOFPAPER]

INSERTFIGURE1:Absenceofthirdpersonpresenttensesingulars(shewalk)by
socialclass,amongAfricanAmericanSpeakersinDetroitandWhitespeakersinDetroit
(fromHolmes1992,p.159,drawingonWolfram1969andTrudgill1974).

MostofthedescriptiveresearchwhichlinguistshavedoneonAAVEoverthepastthirty
yearshasbeenfocusedonitsgrammar,particularlyonitsdistinctivepreverbaltenseaspect
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.6

markers,likeinvarianthabitualbe(Hebeworkin"Heisusuallyworking")andstressedBIN
(SheBINhadone"She'shadoneforalongtime").Thesemayappeartobesimplelexical
items,buttheyfallunder"grammar"ratherthan"lexicon"becausetheyhavegrammatical
ratherthanlexicalmeaning,servingtosignalgrammaticalrelationships(andparticipatingin
asystemoftenseaspectoppositions)ratherthanpossessingsemanticcontentinandof
themselves.(Contrastbucket,walk,whichrefertoentitiesoreventsintherealworld,
outsideoflanguage,ratherthanexpressinggrammaticalrelationships).

Languageuse/Speecheventsandexpressivelanguageuse

Wehavementionedsofarthatdialectsandstylescandifferattheleveloftheir
words,sounds,andgrammaticalpatterns.Thesearethethreecomponentsoflanguagethat
havebeeninvestigatedindialectologyandlinguisticsformorethanacenturyandtheones
thatareusuallycoveredinintroductorybooksonthesesubjects.Afourthlevel,onewhich
hasonlybeguntoreceiveseriousattentionoverthepastthirtyyears,involveswhatwemight
characterize,withdeliberatevagueness,aslanguageuse.Bythiswemean,inthefirst
instance,acommunity'srulesforconstructing,participatinginand(whererelevant)
evaluatingverbalactivitieslargerthanthesentence,includingnarrativesandtelephone
conversationsandverbalroutineslikelecturingortellingjokeswhichareoftendescribedas
"speechevents."Butwealsoincludeunderthiscategorythevariegatedaspectsoflanguage
usewhichfallunderthe"ethnographyofspeaking,"includingconventionsforspeaking
loudly,softly,much,alittle,ornotatall,whetheraddresseesaretoremainsilentorvocally
interactiveduringaspeaker'sturn,whetheroneisexpectedtobroachoravoidcertaintopics
andmakeextensiveuseofsimile,metaphorandrhyme,andsoon(Hymes1973).Wealso
includerulesforturntakingandotheraspectsofwhatisnormallyincludedunder
ConversationAnalysis(Sacks,Schegloffetal),aswellastherulesforconversational
implicature,presupposition,andspeechacts(eventslikecommands,requests,promisesand
threatswhichareusuallyaccomplishedthroughtheuseofwords)whichfallwithinnarrower
definitionsof"pragmatics"(Levinson1983).

Althoughdifferentregionsdohavedifferentconventionsforlanguageuse,thisisnot
somethingthathasbeensystematicallyinvestigatedbydialectgeographers.Mostofwhatis
knownaboutvariationinlanguageusehascomefromstudiesofdifferentsocialgroups,
includingmenversuswomen(forinstance,inmixedsexconversationmeninterruptwomen
moreoftenthanwomeninterruptmen,seeZimmermanandWest1975:115116),and
particularly,differentnationalorethnicgroups.Forinstance,basedonPlato'sdescriptions,
Atheniantalkersappeartohavebeenverbose,SpartanslaconicandCretanspithy(Hymes
1973:44).TheconversationalpatternsofvisitingScandinavianneighborshavebeen
describedasinvolvinglong(apparentlycomfortable)silences,incontrastwiththe
conversationalpatternsofAntiguans,inwhichpeoplespeakcontinuouslyand
"contrapuntally,"withnumerousinterruptionsandoverlaps(Reisman1974).Apattern
similartothatoftheAntiguanshasbeenreported,withintheUS,asbeingcharacteristicof
informalJewishinteractionamongclosefamilyorfriends(Tannen19??).Distinctive
AfricanAmericanspeecheventsandpatternsoflanguageusehavebeeninvestigatedfairly
extensivelyoverthepastquartercenturyandinthiscoursewewillconsiderthenatureand
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.7

significanceofavarietyofverbalactivitiescommonintheAfricanAmericanspeech
community,includingpreaching,callandresponse,sounding,signifying,marking,woofing,
loudtalking,toasts,thedozens,rapping,andsoon.

2.RegionalVariation

Wehavealreadydefinedregionaldialectsasvarietiesofalanguagewhicharespoken
indifferentgeographicalareas.Herewewilldescribesomeofthemethodswhichareused
tocollectanddisplayregionaldialectdata,identifythemajordialectregionsintheUnited
States,andsummarizesomeofthereasonswhyregionaldialectdifferencesarise.

Methods.Eversinceitsbeginningsinthelatenineteenthcentury,regionaldialectologyhas
dependedonthedialectquestionnaireasoneofitsmaindatasources.In1876,George
WenkermailedadialectquestionnairetothousandsofschoolmastersintheNorthof
Germany,dependingonthemtocompleteandreturnitontheirown.Althoughthismethod
isstillfollowed,mostsubsequentdialectologistspreferredthemethodofJulesGilliron,who
in1896sentatrainedfieldworker(EdmondEdmont)intodifferentpartsofFrancetoconduct
dialectquestionnairesinperson.Trainedfieldworkerscangetamorereliablerecordof
pronunciation,andtheycanalsopursuealternativesandreportrelevantobservationsabout
informants'responseswhichcanbehighlyinstructive.

TheregionaldialectsurveyswhichtogethermakeuptheLinguisticAtlasofthe
UnitesStatesandCanadabeginningwiththeLinguisticAtlasofNewEngland(LANE,see
Kurathetal193943)havealldependedonfairlylongquestionnaires,administeredinthe
fieldbytrainedfieldworkers.Similarly,theDictionaryofAmericanRegionalEnglish
(DARE),undertheeditorshipofFredericG.Cassidy,drewontheusageof2,777informants
from1,002communitiesacrosstheUnitedStates.Theseinformantswereinterviewed
between1965and1970by72fieldworkers,usingaquestionnairewithasmanyas1,847
items,suchasthefollowing:

A1 Whatdoyoucallthetimeintheearlymorningbeforethesuncomesinto
sight?
A6 Whattimeisthis?(Showpictureofclockfaceat10:45)
H60 Thelumpywhitecheesethatismadefromsourmilk.
Y18 Toleaveinahurry:"Beforetheyfindthisout,we'dbetter________!"

Likemanydialectquestionnaires,thesequestionsattempttogetatlocalwordusage
indirectly,withoutusingthewordinquestionoritsequivalentinanotherdialect,toavoid
influencingtheinformants'response.DAREfieldworkersalsotaperecordedanaverageof
halfanhour'sspeechfromtheirinformants(1843recordingsinall),andtheseweresampled
toprovideinformationonpronunciationdifferencesacrosstheUS.Fieldworkforthe
LinguisticAtlasoftheGulfStates(LAGS),conductedbetween1968and1983,waseven
moreambitiousinthisregard,yielding5,300hoursoftaperecordedspeech(Pederson
1993:31).Bothsetsofrecordingsshouldconstitutevaluablearchivesforfuturedialect
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.8

research,particularlyasmeasuresofhowmuchchangein"real"timehasoccurredinthe
interim.

ManydialectsurveysintheUSandEuropehavedependedfortheirinformantson
olderpeoplewhowerebornandraisedinthecommunityandhadn'tmovedaroundmuch.
Thisisagoodstrategyforhelpingtocapturedistinctivelocaltraditions,butregional
dialectologyhasalsobeencriticizedforitstendencytooverrepresentmalerespondents,
underrepresentmodernusage,andavoidstratifiedrandomsamples(seePickford1956,
ChambersandTrudgill1980:2436).

Isoglossesanddialectareas. Onewayofdisplayingtheresultsofaregionaldialect
surveyistoincludethedifferentvariantsinatableorlist,withannotationsaboutwhereeach
ismostprevalent.Butamoregraphicwayofdoingthisistochartthedistributionofthe
variantsonadialectatlasormap,asReed1977:99(drawingondatainKurath1949,figure
125)didfortheNorthEasternvariantsof"cottagecheese"intheUS(seemap1).Thelines
separatingtheareasinwhicheachvariantisused(Dutchcheese,potcheese,andsmearcase)
arecalledisoglosses.

INSERTMAP1HERE,fromReed1977:99,basedonKurath1949,fig.125

Arelatedwayofdisplayingregionaldialectdataistouseasymbolforeverylocationona
mapinwhichacertainvariantisattested,asinmap2(fromCassidy1985:883),whichshows
whereintheUSthenouncurd,"freq.pl.,alsocurdcheese,"wasofferedinresponseto
questionH60,reprintedabove.NotethattheDAREmapsoftheUnitedStatesdifferfrom
conventionalmapsbecausetheamountofspacewhichtheyallocatetoeachstateisbasedon
thesizeofitspopulationratherthanitslandarea(Carver1985:xxiii).

INSERTMAP2HERE:fromDARE1985,p.883

Whentheisoglossesfordifferentwords,pronunciationsorgrammaticalfeaturesbundle
together,theyareusuallytakentodefineadialectarea.Inmap3,forinstance(fromKurath
1949,figure42)theisoglossesseparatetheNortherndialectarea,inwhichpail,faucet,skunk
andmerryChristmas!areused,fromtheMidlandandSouthdialectareasinwhichbucket,
spicket,polecatandChristmasgift!areusedrespectively.

INSERTMAP3HERE:Kurath1949,fig42

DialectareasoftheUS.Map4,fromCarver(1987:248),providesacomprehensive
depictionofdialectareasinthecontinentalUS.Itsregionsarebasedonoverlapping
geographicallayersinwhichparticularsetsofwords(lexicalisoglosses)occur.The
fundamentalregionaldividewhichCarverfindsisbetweentheNorthandtheSouth.The
NorthisfurtherdividedintotheUpperNorth,theLowerNorth,andtheWest,andtheSouth
isfurtherdividedintotheUpperSouthandtheLowerSouth,withotherregionalsubdivisions
asindicated.

INSERTMAP4HERE:TheMajorDialectRegionsSummarized(fromCarver1987:248)
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.9

FouradditionalcommentsremaintobemadeinrelationtoMap4.ThefirstisthatCarver's
LowerNorthandUpperSoutharemoreorlessequivalenttoKurath'sMidlandarea,which
doesnot,onCarver's(1987:161)evidence,constituteaunifieddialectarea.Thesecondis
thatlexicalsubdivisionsoftheWestarelessclearcutthanthoseoftheEastinpartbecause
itssettlementanddevelopmentismorerecent,andinpartbecausedialectresearchinthis
partofthecountyhasbeenlessextensivethanithasbeenintheEast.Thethirdpointtonote
isthatthewordsassociatedwitheachoftheregionsinmap4don'toccurwithequal
frequencythroughouttheregion.Asshownbymap5fortheNorthlayer,someareas(darker
shadings)aredenserthanothers,withDAREinformantsshowingfamiliaritywithagreater
numberofwordsthantheDAREinformantsinother(lightershaded)areas.Finally,itis
interestingtonotethatwhenAmericansareaskedtoindicateonamaptheirsubjectivesense
ofmajordialectareasoftheUS,theirresultscorrespondtotheobjectivedivisionsofmap4
toaconsiderableextent,asshownbymap6fromPreston(1996:305,figure5),acomposite
oftheresponsesfor147Michiganrespondents.NotethattheareasonwhichtheseMichigan
respondentsshowthegreatestagreementaretheSouth(delimitedby94%ofrespondents),
andtheNorth(delimitedby61%ofrespondents),correspondingmoreorlesstothemajor
North/Southdivideofmap4.

INSERTMAP5HERE:RelativedensitiesoftheNorthlayer(fromCarver1987:57)

INSERTMAP6HERE:Michiganrespondents'computergeneratedmentalmapofUS
speechregions(fromPreston1996:305,figure5)

Whydialectdifferencesariseandpersist.Beforeweleavethesubjectofregionaldialect
differences,wemightconsiderbrieflyhowsuchdifferencesariseandwhytheypersist.One
factoristheinfluenceofgeographicalbarriers.Ariver,amountainrange,oranexpanseof
barrenland,canservetokeeptwopopulationsapart,creatingormaintainingdifferencesin
usagebetweendialectsoneitherside.TheOhioriver,forinstance,helpstodefinethe
divisionbetweenthedialectareasoftheNorthandtheSouthshowninmap4.Otherfactors
besidegeographywhichhelptocreateandmaintainregionaldialectsincludepolitical
boundaries,settlementpatterns,migrationandimmigrationroutes,territorialconquest,and
languagecontact.InTexas,forinstance,contactwithLouisianaFrenchintheEasthasledto
loanslikejambalaya"ricestew"andbayou"inlet,"whilecontactwithMexicanSpanish
alongtheSouthWesternborderhasyieldedloanslikemesa"dryplateau,"andlariat"rope
withanoose"(Reed1977:52).Onequestionforusinthisvolumewillbewhetherthe
existenceandpersistenceofadistinctivevarietylikeAAVEcanbeattributedinpartto
factorssimilartothosewhichproduceregionaldialects,inparticulartosocialbarriers
betweenAfricanAmericansandotherethnicgroups(particularlyWhites)and/orto
settlementpatternsasAfricanAmericansmigratedNorthandWestfromtheSouth.

Contrarytowhatmanypeopleseemtothink,televisionhasnothadmuchinfluencein
spreadingdialectpatternsorobliteratingdialectdifferences,particularlyinphonologyand
grammar,thedomainsoflanguagewhicharelesseasilynoticedorcontrolledthanthe
lexiconis(seeTrudgill1983:61).Onereasonforthisisthattelevisionisanoninteractive
medium;viewersdon'ttalkbacktoitand,andiftheydo,thetelevisioncharacterscertainly
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.10

donotrespondtotheminreturn.Itistheresponsesofthepeoplewespeaktoinour
everydaylivesindicatingvaryingdegreesofcomprehension,noncomprehension,approval
andnonapprovalofthewaywespeakthatcauseustomodifyourdialects,dependingof
course,onourattitudestowardsthosepeopleandwhetherwecareabouttheiropinions(see
Giles19??,LePageandTabouretKeller1985).

SocialandStylisticVariation

Socialdialectsarevarietiesdistinguishedaccordingtothesocialgroupswhouse
them,forinstance,uppermiddleclassversusworkingclassspeakers(socialclass),men
versuswomen(sexorgender),youngpeopleversusold(age),AfricanAmericansversus
EuropeanAmericans(ethnicityorrace),peoplewhoarepartofaparticularnetworkatschool
orintheneighborhoodversusthosewhoarenot(network).Intheory,sinceindividuals
typicallybelongtoseveraldifferentgroupssimultaneously,theirspeechpatternsmightbe
takentoreflectthesimultaneousintersectionoftheirsocialcategoriesandexperiences,e.g.
thespeechofyounguppermiddleclassWhitefemale"jocks"fromChicago(seeEckert
1989).Inpractice,however,socialdialectologistsorsociolinguiststendtoconsiderthe
linguisticcorrelatesofsocialcategoriesonecategoryatatimeforinstance,theeffectsof
socialclassmembershipontheuseofthirdpersonsingularpresenttensesabsenceanddata
onthesimultaneouseffectsofsocialcategories(e.g.classandsex)arepresentedlessoften
(butseefigure3below)Interactionsbetweensocialclassandstylearecommonlynoted,
however,andstylisticvariationwillalsobeconsideredinthissection.

TheissueofsocialvariationiscriticaltodiscussionsofAAVEbecausethemost
vernacularfeatures(e.g."Hetall,""Webejumping,""Ain'nobodydonenothin")are
usedmostfrequentlybyspeakersoftheworkingandlowerclass.Geographicalregiondoes
notappeartomakeasignificantdifference,exceptinsofarasthelexicon,especiallyslang,is
concerned,butsocialclassisdefinitelyrelevant,andtherelevanceofage,sexandsocial
networkhasalsobeenraisedinseveralstudies.

Methods.Althoughthesystematicstudyofsocialdialects(aboutthirtyyearsold)isalot
morerecentthanthesystematicstudyofregionaldialects(aboutonehundredandtwenty
yearsold),themethodsofregionaldialectologycouldnotsimplybeextendedtosocial
dialectology.Foronething,socialdialectdifferencestendtobereflectedmoreoftenin
phonologyandgrammarthaninthelexicon,andtheyaremoreoftensociallymarkedas
prestigiousorstigmatizedthanregionaldifferencesare.Ifweweretoattempttogetatsocial
differencesinlanguagejustbyaskingpeoplewhichpronunciationorgrammaticalpattern
theyused(theequivalentoftheregionaldialectologist'slexicalquestionnaire),wemight
find,inthefirstplace,thatpeople'sactualusagemightliebelowthelevelofconscious
awareness.Moreover,peoplemighttendtounderreporttheiractualuseofsocially
stigmatizedvariantsineverydaylife,andoverreporttheiruseofsociallyprestigious
variants,asanumberofstudies(Labov,Trudgill)haveshown.Thedirectelicitationof
speakers'intuitionscanstillbeuseful,andwewilldrawondataderivedfromthisapproach
atseveralpointsinthisvolume,butwhatsocialdialectologistshaveusuallyreliedonastheir
principaldatasourceissamplesofpeoplespeakinginformally,analyzedtoseewhich
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.11

variantsspeakersuseandhowoften.Themajormeansofachievingthisgoalhasbeento
taperecordspeakersinrelativelyinformalinteraction,eitherinconversationwiththeirpeers
(closefriendsandfamilymembers)orinspontaneousinterviewslastinganhourormorein
whichcertaintopicsareincludedtoproducemoreexcitedinteractionandmakethe
intervieweelessconsciousofhisorherspeech.Twofavoritetopicsorthistypeare
descriptionsofsituationsinwhichthespeakerwasindangerofbeingkilled,anddescriptions
ofgameshe/sheplayedasachild,butanytopicinwhichthespeakerseemstogetinvolved
orexcitedmaybepursued.

SocialClass.Forsocialdialectology,one'ssampleneedstoincluderepresentativesofeach
ofthesocialgroupsbeinginvestigated,andwhileitisrelativelyeasytodifferentiatemen
versuswomen,orteenagersversusmiddleagedadults,distinguishingbetweendifferent
socioeconomicorsocialclassesisabitmoredifficult.Themostcommonwayofdoingthis
insociolinguisticsistoaskpeopleabouttheiroccupations,theireducationalbackgrounds,
theirincomes,theirresidencetypes(numberofroomsandlocation)and/ortheirlifestyles,
andthenuseoneofthesociologicalstatusscales(forinstanceWarner1960,Hollingshead
1958,Hjrup1983,MilroyandMilroy1992)toassignthemtooneoffourorfive
socioeconomicgroups(e.g.LowerWorkingClass,UpperWorkingClass)dependingontheir
answers.Sometimesoccupationalprestige(asassessedbyindependentsurveys)isgiventhe
greatestweightinsuchrankings,andincomesomewhatless,partlybecauseincomecanbe
unreliablyreportedforvariousreasons,andbecauseitdoesn'talwayscorrelatedirectlywith
socialstandingorstatus.Thereissomedebateinsociolinguisticsaboutwhetherspeakers'
evaluationsoftheirownandother'ssocialclassstandingshouldbegivengreaterweightthan
itisinmoststudies,andaboutwhetherconflictmodelsofsocialclass(forinstanceMarx,
Dahrendorf)shouldbeusedmoreoften(seeRickford1986,Williams1992),buttodiscuss
thisherewouldtakeustoofarafield.

Thedifferencesbetweensocialdialectsareusually,aswehavenotedbefore,
quantitativeratherthanqualitative.Accordingly,socialstratificationinlanguageisusually
representedbymeansofdisplayslikefigure1,above,whichshowstherelativefrequency
withwhichoneofthevariantsofavariableisusedbythedifferentsocialclasses,asa
proportionofallthecasesinwhichitcouldhavebeenused,followingLabov's(1966:49)
principleofaccountability.Inthisfigure,thevariantdisplayedisabsenceofthirdperson
singularpresenttenses(i.e.,thepercentageofthetimespeakerssaidformslike"Hewalk"
ratherthan"Hewalks"),andthefigureisanexampleofsharpstratification,withsignificant
differencesbetweentheusageoftheworkingclassandmiddleclassgroups,bothinNorwich
andDetroit.

INSERTFIGURE1:Absenceofthirdpersonpresenttenses,Norwich&Detroit(Holmes
1992:159)

Figure2,bycontrast,isanexampleofgradientorfinestratification,sincethefrequenciesfor
thedifferentsocialclassesaremuchclosertoeachother,appearingasacontinuumoffine
shadingsratherthanaseriesofdiscreteandsharplyseparatedbreaks.Thisfigureisfromthe
workofWilliamLabov,theleadingpioneerinthemethodologicalandtheoreticalaspectsof
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.12

socialdialectvariation,particularlyasitrelatestoongoingchangesinthelanguage(see
Labov1972,1994).Thevariableitdepictsisthepronunciationofpostvocalicrinwordslike
carorbeard,andit'sagoodoneforillustratinganumberofsociolinguisticgeneralizations
anddistinctions.Inthefirstplace,notethatsocialstratificationandstylisticdifferentiation
areshownsimultaneously,andthatbothpatternquiteregularlyeachsocioeconomicgroup
increasingit'srelativefrequencyofrpronunciationasthestylisticcontextbecomesmore
formal,while,withineachstyle,highersocioeconomicgroupsshowmorerpronunciation
thanlowerones.Theoneexceptionisthe"crossover"patternoftheLowerMiddleClassin
wordlistandminimalpairstyles,whereconsciousnessofthevariableunderinvestigationis
greatest;inthesecontexts,thelinguisticallyinsecureLowerMiddleClassspeakersuseeven
moreoftheprestigevariantthanspeakersfromthehighestsocioeconomicgroup,theUpper
MiddleClass.This"crossover"patternbyanintermediatesocialgroupisoftensymptomatic
ofongoingchange,and,ascomparisonswitholderrecordsaswellascontemporaryage
groupsverify,thepronunciationofrinNewYorkCitydoesinfactrepresentachangein
progress,withtheyoungestmembersoftheuppermiddleclassshowingthegreatestuseof
thenewrpronouncingnorm.

INSERTFIGURE2:VariationinrpronunciationinNYC(fromLabov1994:87)

Bycontrast,anumberofothervariables,suchasthepronunciationofthesuffixin
walkingandothergerundsasin[In]insteadofing[Ing]arestablesociolinguistic
variables,showingnosignificantdifferencesacrossagegroups,andnoevidenceofongoing
linguisticchange(Labov1972:238240).Both(r)and(ing)aresociolinguisticmarkers,
meaningthattheyvarysimultaneouslybysocialgroupmembershipandstyle,incontrast
withindicators,whicharecorrelatedwithgeographicalregionorsocialgroupmembership
only,andshowlittleornostylisticvariation.Anexampleofanindicatoristhevariable(a:)
inNorwich,England,involvingthepronunciationofthevowelincart,pathandsimilar
words.Ingeneral,speakersofalanguagearemoreawareofmarkersthanindicators;
increasingordecreasingitsuseindifferentstylesisinpartareflectionofthisawareness.It
issometimespossibleformarkerstoreachanevengreaterlevelofsocialawarenessand
commentary,andbecomealinguisticstereotype,popularlyassociatedwithaparticular
region(e.g.theBrooklynesepronunciationof"thirtythird"astoitytoid)orsocialgroup(e.g.
thecharacterizationofworkingclassspeakersas"always"sayingdese,demanddose,with
initialdinsteadofth[]).Linguisticstereotypesareoftennomoreaccuratethansocial
stereotypes,representingbehaviorascategoricalwhenitisinfactvariable(aswithdese,dem
anddose),orascurrentwhenactualusagehaschanged(aswiththetoitytoidstereotypesee
ChambersandTrudgill1980:88).

Wemightalsonote,onthebasisoffigures1and2,thattherelativestatusofa
linguisticfeatureasprestigiousorstigmatizedisusuallyadirectreflectionofthesocialstatus
ofthegroupswhouseitmostoften.ThirdpersonsingularsabsenceinNorwichand
Detroit,clearlyassociatedwithworkingandlowerclassusage,isastigmatizedfeature.But
rpronunciationinNewYork,associatedwithmiddleclassusage,isaprestigefeature.Note
thatthesituationinrelationtotheprestigious"receivedpronunciation"(R.P.)ofEnglandis
quitetheopposite,withrlessnessbeingtheprestigenorm.Thisexampleisgoodfor
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.13

illustratingthefactthattherelativeprestigeofafeature(usefullydefinedbyWeinreich
1953:???as"functioninsocialadvance")isnotsimplyafunctionofwhetheritcorresponds
tothestandardspellingorwhetheritinvolves"deletions";inEngland,deleted"r"is
prestigious,butinNewYorkitisstigmatized,basedontheusageofthehighestsocial
classesineachcommunity.Ofcoursethesituationisoftenmorecomplex.SomeAAVE
variablesaresimultaneouslystigmatizedsofarasusageintheformalmainstreamcontexts
ofworkandtheclassroomareconcernedandprestigious,sofarasusageininformal
contextsofsolidarityandethnicityoryouthidentityaffirmationareconcerned.An
alternativeapproachtothisambiguityistoseethemasrepresentingdifferentkindsof
"prestige,"theovertinstitutionalnormsofhigherstatusgroupsrecognizedbysocietyatlarge
andmaintainedbyteachers,themediaandothers"agentsofstandardization"versusthe
covert,oftencounterculturenormsembracedbyintermediateandlowerstatussocialgroups
withlittleornoinstitutionalsupport(Wolfram1991:98).

Wehaveconcentratedsofaronsocialvariationbysocialclass,oneofthemost
salientcorrelatesofsocialvariabilityinstudiesofAAVEandinsociolinguisticsmore
generally.Fourotheraspectswhichwewillbrieflyconsiderinthisintroductionarevariation
accordingtoethnicity,age,sexorgender,andsocialnetwork.We'llalsoconsideranother
approachtostylisticvariationbesidestheoneexemplifiedinfigure2.

Ethnicity.Aspeaker'sethnicorracialgroupmayalsohaveasignificanteffectonthe
languagetheyuse,butwewilldiscussthisissuequitebrieflyhere,sinceitis,inasensethe
focusofthisentirevolume.Thisisparticularlysosincethebulkofsociolinguisticresearch
onlanguageandethnicityhasinfactfocusedonthelinguisticrelationshipbetweenthe
EnglishofAfricanAmericansandEuropeanAmericans,asaglanceatanyofthe
introductorytextbooksinsociolinguistics(e.g.Holmes1992,Wardhaugh1992,)willreveal.
Inthesetexts,discussionsoflanguageandethnicityturnouttobeprimarilydiscussionsof
AAVE.

Itisrelevanttoconsiderotherkindsofethnicinfluence,however,foronecommon
sourceofdistinctivenessinethnicdialectsistheinfluenceofforeignlanguagesspokenasa
firstlanguagebyanindividualorbyhisorherparentsandgrandparents.Forinstance,Maori
speakersinNewZealandmayusegreetingslikekiaoraandotherMaoriwordsintheir
English,especiallywithotherMaorispeakers,andJewishAmericansmaymakegreateruse
ofethnicallymarkedtermslikeoyvayandshlemiel(whichcomefromYiddish)thanother
ethnicgroups(Holmes1992:19193).Or,togiveaphonologicalexample,Mexican
AmericanspeakersofEnglishsometimesuseavoiceless[s]ratherthanavoiced[z](saying
"soo"for"zoo"),andthismaybeattributedtotheinfluenceofSpanish,whichdoesnothave
voiced[z]inwordinitialorwordfinalposition(Valds1988:130).Thequestionthenarises
ofwhethertheVernacularEnglishofAfricanAmericansmightbeattributedtotheinfluence
ofAfricanlanguagesspokenbytheirforebearswhocamefromAfricahundredsofyearsago,
ortotheinfluenceofcreolelanguageswhichtheyandtheirearlydescendantsmighthave
acquiredintheNewWorld.TheansweristhatsomeofthedistinctivenessofAAVEmight
beattributedtopassiveinheritancefromanancestrallanguage,butnotallofitcan.The
maintenanceifnotthecreationofsomeofthelinguisticdifferencesbetweenthespeechof
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.14

AfricanAmericansandotherethnicgroupsmustbeattributedtootherfactors,including
segregation,migrationwithintheUS,andadesiretoexpressadistinctiveethnicidentity(Le
PageandTabouretKeller,1985).

Age. Agerelatedvariationinlanguagemayreflecteitheragegradingorchangein
progress.Agegradinginvolvesfeaturesassociatedwithspecificagegroupsasa
developmentalorsocialstage,asinthetwowordutterancesofchildrenaroundeighteen
monthsofage("Mommysock,""Drinksoup"Moskowitz1985:55),ortheingroupslang
ofteenagers(rad"cool",gnarly"gross/cool"T.Labov1992:350).Normally,speakersgive
upthefeaturesassociatedwithaparticularstageastheygrowolder.Inthecaseofchangein
progress,however,agedifferencesreflectanactualchangeincommunitynorms,aswiththe
pronunciationofrinNewYorkCity,exemplifiedinfigure2above.Thestudyofage
differencesisimportantforthestudyoflanguagechange("changeinapparenttime"Bailey
etal1991)butitcansometimesbedifficulttotellwhetheroneisdealingwithstableage
gradingorwithchangeinprogress(seeLabov1981,Rickfordetal1991:1278),soone
mightseekoutevidenceofchangeinrealtime(acrosssamplesfromtwoormorepointsin
time).Forinstance,speakersofAmericanEnglishwhoare19yearsandyoungertendto
omittheverb(goesorbeconcerned)inasfarasconstructions(forinstance,in"Asfarasthe
whiteservants,itisn'tclear")farmoreoftenthanspeakersaged60yearsorolderdo;this
evidenceofchangeinapparenttimeisbackedupbyrealtimeevidencethatinthelate
nineteenthandinthefirsthalfofthetwentiethcentury,theverbwasalmostneverdeletedin
thisconstruction(Rickfordetal1995).

Onelittlestudiedaspectofagerelatedvariationinlanguageisthequestionof
whetheradolescence,whichissuchasignificantphysicalandsociopsychologicalperiodin
thetransitionfromchildhoodtoadulthood,isaccompaniedbyequallysignificantlinguistic
developments.OneofthefewstudieswithrelevantdataonthisissueisWolfram's(1969)
studyofsociolinguisticvariationintheAAVEofDetroit,whichshowsusagebychildren
(ages1012),adolescents(ages1417)andadultsforseveralvariables.Althoughthe
adolescentsinWolfram'sstudyappeartobeintermediatebetweentheoldestandyoungest
groups,weknowfromotherdatathatadolescentssometimesuseAAVEasasymbolicgroup
marker,moresothanotheragegroups,andthatthisleadsthemtousetheirAAVEfeatures
morethananyotheragegroup.Thenatureandsociolinguisticsignificanceoftheadolescent
stagearecurrentlybeinginvestigatedbyPenelopeEckertatStanford..

Gender.Thestudyoflanguageandgender("gender"oftenpreferredto"sex"becauseit
emphasizesthesocioculturalratherthanbiologicaldifferencesbetweenmenandwomen)has
mushroomedoverthepasttwodecades,anditwouldbeimpossibletosummarizeherethe
mainapproachestothissubjectorthemostinterestingfindings.However,oneaspectofthis
researchwhichisparticularlyrelevanttothisvolumeisthefindingthatwomentendtouse
nonstandardorvernacularvariantslessoftenthanmen.Forinstance,asfigure3shows,
womeninNorwich,Englandusenonstandard[n]asthesuffixinwalkingandsimilar
gerundslessoftenthanmenfromthesamesocialclassdo(theeffectismostmarkedin
classes2and3,thelowermiddleandupperworkingclass);thishasalsobeenfoundtobe
trueintheUS(Detroit,NewYorkandPhiladelphia),andinCanadaandAustraliaaswell
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.15

(Labov1990:211).Studiesofothervariablesforinstance,multiplenegation,theabsenceof
thirdsingularpresenttenses,orthesimplificationofwordfinalconsonantclusters(tol',
fas')showsimilarresults.Variousreasonshavebeensuggestedforthiscommonfinding
perhapswomenaremorestatusconsciousthanmen,orperhapstheyhaveamoresignificant
roletoplayasupholdersofsociety'snotionsof"correctness,"orperhapsthemenusethe
vernacularformsmoreoftentoexpressmachismo,orperhapstherewasaninterviewer
effect,withtheprevalenceofmaleinterviewersleadingtomorecomfortableinterviewsand
moreinformalusagewithmen(Holmes1992:171181).Whicheveroneorcombinationof
theseexplanationsturnsouttobemostsignificant,itisclearthatgenderisasignificant
aspectofdialectvariationtowhichwemustattendinconsideringAAVE.Thisisallthe
moresosinceWolfram's(1969)studyofDetroithasalreadyshowngreateruseofAAVE
featuresbymalesthanbyfemales.Moreover,mostoftheliteratureonAAVEisbasedon
studiesofmales,interviewedbyothermales(Edwards1992,andRickfordandMcNairKnox
1994arerecentexceptions),andthereisawidespreadassumptionthatAAVEisreallythe
provinceofstreetwiseinnercitymales.Webelievethatthisisamisconception,oratleast
thattherearewomenwhosevernacularusageequalsandevensurpassesthatofmen.
Certainlythisappearstobethecasewithcertainvernacularvariableslikeinvarianthabitual
bewhichrepresentchangeinprogress.Thismaybeaninstantiationoftheothermajor
generalizationaboutlanguagevariationandgenderthatwomenleadinlinguisticchange,
regardlessofwhethertheincomingvariantsareprestigiousornot,andwhethertheyare
belowthelevelofconsciousawarenessornot(Labov1990:213219).

INSERTFIGURE3:inbysex&classinNorwich(Holmes1992:169,fr.Trudgill1983)

Network. Anotheraspectofsocialdifferentiationwhichcanaffectlanguageuseeven
whenclass,ethnicity,ageandgenderareheldconstantissocialnetwork,ameasureof
associationpatternswithinacommunity.Forinstance,LabovandRobinsreportedasearly
as1969thattherewasasharpdistinctionbetweenthelinguisticbehaviorandreadingscores
ofpreadolescentandteenageAfricanAmericanboysinHarlemdependingonwhetherthey
weremembersofneighborhoodpeergroupsliketheJetsandtheCobrasorwhetherthey
werenot.Peergroupmembersnotonlyusedhigherfrequenciesofcopulaabsenceandother
vernacularfeaturesthannonpeergroupmembers,butmoreofthemwerebelowgradelevel
inreading,andtheytendedtobefurtherbehindthreeormoreyearsbelowgradelevel
comparedwithonetotwoyearsfornonmembers(onethirdofwhomwereonorabove
gradelevelinreading).

Moregenerally,Milroy(1980)hasshown,withdatafromBelfastEnglish,that
networkswhicharedense(closeknit,witheachmemberofthenetworkknowingeachother)
andmultiplex(withmembersknowingandinteractingwitheachotherinmultiplecapacities,
e.g.asfriends,coworkers,andfamilymembers)arepowerfulforcesinthemaintenanceof
localvernacularnorms.Edwards(1992)hasshowntherelevanceofnetworkanalysistothe
useofAAVEinDetroit.

Style.Mostofthesubtypesofvariationwhichwehaveconsideredsofarinvolvevariation
accordingtoUSERinfluencedbytheregionorsocialgroup(s)fromwhichthespeaker
 J.R.Rickford,HowLinguistsApproachtheStudyofLanguageandDialect,p.16

comes.Stylisticvariation,bycontrast,involvesvariationaccordingtoUSE(Halliday1964),
anditmaybeevidentinthespeechofasingleindividualorrelativelyhomogeneousgroup,
nomatterhownarrowlydefined.

Therearetwoprincipalapproachestothestudyofstyleinsociolinguistics.Thefirst,
associatedwithLabov(1966)andexemplifiedbyfigure2,assumesthatstylescanberanked
onacontinuumofattentionpaidtospeech,fromcasualspeechononeend,towordlistsand
minimalpairsontheother.Theprimarymeansofelicitingsamplesofdifferentstylesinthis
approachistovarythetopicsdiscussed(e.g.careerplansversuschildhoodgames)andthe
taskswhichtheintervieweeisassigned(e.g.talkingaboutchildhoodexperiencesversus
readingashortpassage).Analternativeapproach,adoptedbyLabovetal(1968)butbest
representedinBell(1984),assumesthatstylesessentiallyrepresentspeakers'responsesto
theiraudience.Theprimarymeansofelicitingsamplesofdifferentstylesinthisapproachis
tovarytheinterlocutor,forinstance,byrecordingthesamespeakerwithadifferent
interviewerorininteractionwithingroupmembersratherthanoutsiders.Evidenceofstyle
shiftinginAAVEhascomemainlyfromthissecondapproach(e.g.Labovetal1968,
RickfordandMcNairKnox1994)includingdramaticchangesinAAVEuseaccordingto
audience.