Iterated learning models of language evolution have typically been used to study the emergence of language, rather than historical language change. We use iterated learning models to investigate historical change in the accent classes of two Korean dialects. Simulations reveal that many of the patterns of historical change can be explained as…

To become a native speaker, beyond obligatory rules, children need to learn systematic variation in the language, as it is present at all levels of language structure and is an integral part of linguistic knowledge. To give an example in English, speakers sometimes pronounce words ending in -ing with -in' (e.g., working vs. workin') depending on…

This study compares the use of the variable (q), which is realized as rural [q] and urban [?], in the speech of twenty-two parents and their twenty-one children from the village of Oyoun Al-Wadi in Syria. The study shows that children acquire the general gendered linguistic pattern of the community but do not replicate the linguistic frequencies…

While previous sociolinguistic research has demonstrated that children faithfully acquire probabilistic input constrained by sociolinguistic and linguistic factors (e.g., gender and socioeconomic status), research suggests children regularize inconsistent input-probabilistic input that is not sociolinguistically constrained (e.g., Hudson Kam &…

This dissertation presents the results of a tripartite exploration of English use by Latinxs in post-Katrina New Orleans, defined here as an ethnolinguistic repertoire that I call New Orleans Latinx English (NOLAE). The project considers how contemporary English use differs from that found in a pre-Katrina sample, how social network geometry…

The present study is concerned with language contact between Creole English and Spanish spoken by bilingual West Indians who live in Panama City, Panama. The goal of this study is to examine the speech patterns of monolinguals of Creole English and Spanish and Spanish-Creole English bilinguals in the local communities of this region, by employing…

In order to correlate the two it is proposed to examine both the kinds of contribution that sociolinguistics might make in the study of comparative education, and the light comparative studies in education might throw on apparent anomalies in sociolinguistics research. (Author)

Everyone has a name. Names are more than a symbol or label. The culture of a people finds expression in the language they employ. When personal names are studied historically, philosophically, etymologically, and psychologically the reflection of the social and natural environment can be perceived. This paper focuses on the analysis of the…

Among both first- and second-generation immigrant groups in New Zealand and Australia, women maintain the ethnic language (EL) longer than men. Compared with men's networks, women's networks encourage more extensive use of EL in social interactions, and women value the social and affective functions expressed by EL. (Contains 71 references.…

In this sociolinguistic study of the language patterns of 10 young mother-tongue Panjabi-speaking children, the children are educated in England and first exposed to English at about age 3, resulting in sequential acquisition of bilingualism. Clear patterns of language choice are reported. (33 references) (Author/LB)

Sociolinguistic patterns, including internal structuring and clinical norms and values, of Chinese communities in Britain are examined. The complexity of the composition of the Chinese population there are reported, and findings from a pilot study of language choice are discussed in the context of wide sociolinguistic issues Chinese people in…

This paper considers a distinction frequently used in sociolinguistics and ethnography of speaking to describe speech events: their formality or informality. Three principle meanings of "formality" found in the literature concern whether the formality relates to properties of a communicative code, properties of the social setting in…

Focuses on arguments among White American children in a small town in New England, Black American children of migrant harvesters, and rural Hindi-speaking Fiji Indian children. Findings suggest that, while repetition, inversion, and escalation are common to all three cultures, there is considerable variation as to how they are used. (EJS)

Differential evaluations of speech usually occur along the standard-nonstandard dimension. Standard accent rates highly in regard to status and competence but low on the dimensions of integrity and attractiveness. In a Canadian context, however, a regional standard (mainland Nova Scotia) compared favorably or equally in all dimensions to other…

Repudiates the theory that black dialect has African origins. Supports the British Isles influence theory. (FL)