Quantitative Methods in Sociolinguistics - Softcover

Macaulay, Ronald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0230579183 ISBN 13: 9780230579187

Publisher: Palgrave, 2009

Synopsis

The ways in which data is collected, coded and analyzed provide the basis for trusting the conclusions reached in any sociolinguistic study. This detailed textbook critically examines methods used in quantitative sociolinguistic studies, including the ways in which the major social categories of age, gender, ethnicity and social class have been employed to chart language variation.

With an in-depth focus on methodological decisions, Quantitative Methods in Sociolinguistics:

· Discusses the nature of data and explores methods of collecting evidence of language variation
· Critically reviews the methodology in a number of book-length sociolinguistic studies, showing the ways in which data has been collected and analyzed
· Illustrates different ways of tabulating the results of an investigation and examines different ways of analyzing the results

Designed for students at all levels studying sociolinguistics, this invaluable book evaluates and explains the basis on which claims have been made and encourages the reader to view the existing sociolinguistics literature with a more critical eye.

About this title

About the Author:

Ronald K. S. Macaulay is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Pitzer College. He is the author of Language, Social Class and Education (1997), Locating Dialect in Discourse (1991), Standards and Variation in Urban Speech (1997), Talk that Counts: Age, Gender, and Social Class Differences in Discourse (2005), Extremely Common Eloquence (2005) and The Social Art (2006).

Review:

I greatly welcome this book. On reading it I felt a need fulfilled. Just what were those early studies like? Is it really true that in their vast scope and care for detail they have never been matched? (the answer is yes, it is true). What cell sizes were used? What are the advantages, disadvantages and pitfalls with various ways of quantifying data across a sample? Do we need statistics, and if so what sort? I found answers to these questions here. Macaulay argues strongly for accountability to the research community by making raw data available - not always the case, but increasingly so, not least through the example of Macaulay's own practice. These issues are still very much with us today, and we would all do well to read this book for both inspiration and a fuller appreciation of the pioneering contributions of the early variationists - Professor Paul Kerswill, Lancaster University 'An excellent overview of the field of variationist sociolinguistics...presenting and explaining the main issues, concepts and studies the field has generated since its inception in the 1960s...this it does extraordinarily well.' - Sebastian M. Rasinger, Journal of Sociolinguistics 'Extremely valuable...will find its way onto many a reading list' - Sebastian M. Rasinger, Journal of Sociolinguistics

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0230579183
• ISBN 13: 9780230579187
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160