Sociolinguistics: Method and Interpretation presents a thorough and practical description of current sociolinguistic methodology while recognizing that methodological decisions can never be separated from questions of theory.

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• Presents a thorough and practical description of current sociolinguistic methodology.
  
• Considers a range of issues including speaker selection, data collection, social considerations, phonological and syntactical variation, style-shifting and code-switching.
  
• Recognizes that methodological decisions can never be separated from questions of theory.
  
• Stresses the need for the entire research process from the initial design of the project to the interpretation of results to be grounded in theoretically defensible positions.
  
• Shows how the research paradigm established by a few influential pioneers has been fruitfully expanded by exciting new trends.

About the Author
Lesley Milroy is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Michigan. She is the author of numerous books and articles, including Authority in Language (third edition, 1999) and Language and Social Networks (second edition, Blackwell 1987).

Matthew Gordon is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is the author of Small-Town Values, Big-City Vowels: A Study of the Northern Cities Shift in Michigan (2001).

Reviews
'Milroy and Gordon give us the first comprehensive survey of research methods that takes in the breadth and scope of sociolinguistics as it has come to maturity. They relate analytic methods to research goals and always keep an eye on matters of interpretation and evaluation that give meaning to quantitative and statistical results. This book is a valuable resource not only for students but also for experienced researchers.' J. K. Chambers, University of Toronto

'Given the accelerating, visible growth of sociolinguistics, it is surprising that there are practically no books dedicated to methods. This is a welcome exception. But it is more than a discussion of techniques; it is firmly grounded in current sociolinguistic theory. The combination of an experienced fieldworker and analyst, and an up-and-coming scholar has resulted in one of the most useful texts in variation studies to be published in the last decade.' Walt Wolfram, North Carolina State University

Book Information
ISBN 9780631222255
Author Lesley Milroy
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Wiley-Blackwell
Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Weight(grams) 399g
Dimensions(mm) 230mm * 155mm * 21mm