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Principles of Linguistic Change: Social Factors, Volume 2. William Labov. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers, 2001. 572 pp.
This book is the second in a planned three-volume series from William Labov, who has been a driving force in sociolinguistics for nearly four decades. The series seeks to identify general principles governing linguistic change and considers separately language-internal factors (vol. 1), cognitive factors (vol. 3), and social factors (the present volume).
The 16 chapters of the book are organized thematically into four parts. The first part sets the stage for the later discussion by surveying traditional approaches to language change within historical linguistics. Earlier generations of linguists wrestled with the question of why languages change, but Labov's approach is distinguished by its examination of changes currently in progress, which offers a fresh perspective on the mechanisms driving change. This approach is exemplified by Labov's research on Philadelphia speech. The main program for this research was his Project on Linguistic Change and Variation (LCV) carried out in the mid-1970s. This project is central to the entire discussion as most of Labov's arguments throughout the book are grounded in findings from LCV. Readers will welcome, therefore, the description of the methods and goals of this project, which presents a much more comprehensive report...