Variation in Linguistic Systems

James A. Walker

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136988929
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Langues et linguistique
• Subtopic: Linguistique

Tying together work on a number of languages and linguistic varieties in different locales, this book provides students and researchers with a convenient, unified overview of variationist analysis in linguistics. Variation in Linguistic Systems takes a theoretical and quantitative approach to the study of variation in language, focusing on the role of language-internal constraints on variation and the relation of linguistic variation to linguistic theory. It introduces the basic concepts of variationist linguistics and includes key discussions on language change, language contact, the different types of variation, multivariate analysis with GoldVarb, and variation in sound and grammatical systems.

Here is an ideal textbook for an introductory course on variation, as well as a useful resource for scholars with some background in linguistics who are interested in the study of language variation and its relation to the wider field of linguistics.

1   Introduction

Unfortunately, or luckily, no language is tyrannically consistent. All grammars leak.

(Sapir 1921: 38)

1.0  Introduction

Variation is a pervasive fact of language. Every time we speak, we make choices that shape the language we use and that influence the linguistic choices of other speakers. Despite the fact of variation, it is often viewed as a problem in linguistics. Sapir’s double-edged lament, cited above, is not uncommon in descriptive and theoretical studies, in which variation is acknowledged only in footnotes or passed over in silence. In linguistics programs, the discussion of variation is often relegated to the last few weeks of introductory courses or taught in upper-year elective courses. As students, many of us often wondered whether there is any connection between linguistics and linguistic variation.

Over the past forty years, William Labov and his students (or, in my case, a student of his student) have developed a quantitative research paradigm that seeks to incorporate variation into the scientific study of language. This research paradigm is often described as sociolinguistics, though this term is misleading in several ways. As Labov himself has pointed out (1972), the use of the term sociolinguistics (as opposed to simply linguistics) implies that there could be a science of language that does not take into account the social dimensions of linguistic behavior. In addition, there are other research paradigms described as sociolinguistics (the sociology of language, the ethnography of communication, discourse analysis, language policy and planning, and so on) that are not quantitative and/or that address rather different types of research questions (see, for example, Coulmas 1997). Finally, the use of the term sociolinguistics implies an exclusive focus on social considerations, such as sex/gender, social class, ethnicity, and so on. While such considerations obviously constitute a large part of the study of linguistic variation, a glance at the literature reveals what Guy (1993) calls a “Janus-like” concern with both the social and linguistic aspects of variation. For these reasons, I prefer to use the term variationist linguistics to refer to this research paradigm.

1.1  About the Book

The focus of this book is the linguistic side of the variationist method, which concerns the conditioning of linguistic variation by language-internal constraints and the relationship between linguistic variation and linguistic theory. While there are a number of good introductions to and overviews of sociolinguistics (Chambers 2008, Coulmas 1997, Trudgill 2000), they either devote little space to discussing linguistic variation or focus entirely on social factors. There are also a number of detailed “case studies” that deal with linguistic variation in specific research locales or address particular issues, such as the history of African American English (Poplack 2000, Poplack & Tagliamonte 2001, Wolfram & Thomas 2002). However, because of the relatively narrow focus of these studies, they may not be well known outside of their subfields or be of more general interest. Other books provide good guide for fieldwork, analysis and/or statistics (Baayen 2008, Milroy & Gordon 2003, Paolillo 2002, Tagliamonte 2006a) but contain little or no discussion of linguistic factors. From another perspective, recent work has started to address the needed dialogue between linguistic theory and variationist linguistics (Adger 2006, Henry 1995), but this work tends to proceed from the direction of linguistic theory, sometimes in venues that are inaccessible to a wider audience, and may be daunting to those who are not well-versed in the latest theoretical developments.

This book is an attempt to fill a gap in the field, tying together work on a number of different languages and linguistic varieties in different locales to provide a unified discussion of the linguistic side of the study of linguistic variation. Although I have tried to include studies of a variety of languages, readers may note an unfortunate bias in favor of English. Part of this bias stems from the focus of my own work, which I have drawn upon heavily to provide illustrative examples of the ideas developed in this book. This bias also stems from the concentration of variationist studies on English and a handful of European-origin languages, such as (Canadian) French, (New World) Spanish and (Brazilian) Portuguese. There has been increasing interest in extending the variationist method to other languages, but these studies have yet to reach a critical mass to rival that of the other languages. However, I hope that this is something that will change over time.

The main objective of this book is to provide students and researchers with a convenient, unified overview of variationist linguistic analysis. It is intended to be suitable not only as the main textbook for an advanced undergraduate or introductory graduate course (perhaps supplemented by additional readings and original studies), but also as a general introduction for scholars with some background in linguistics who are interested in the study of linguistic variation and its relation to the wider field of linguistics. The book is not intended as a how-to manual or a statistics reference, though one chapter discusses the specifics of multivariate analysis with GoldVarb in some detail. This chapter is included in order to provide more background on interpreting the figures and tables presented in subsequent chapters and is also intended to stand on its own as a guide to using GoldVarb. While I have made an effort to cite the major works on linguistic variation, the book is not intended as a comprehensive review of the variationist literature. The principle guiding my selection of studies to serve as examples to illustrate theoretical or methodological points is ease of exposition. For this reason, I have drawn heavily on my own work and some better-known studies are passed over for detailed discussion in favor of lesser-known work. In citing works, I have tried to strike a balance between giving credit where credit is due and not overburdening the reader with excessive in-text citations. Interested readers should consult the works cited and the suggested readings provided at the end of each chapter for further details on specific studies.

1.2  Structure of the Book

The book is divided into nine chapters dealing with different methodological and theoretical aspects of variationist linguistics. Although the chapters build on each other, each includes an introduction recapping the content of the preceding chapter and outlining the structure of the chapter and a conclusion summarizing the main points of the chapter, to allow for the use of individual chapters depending on the reader’s level of experience and background. In this chapter, we discuss the goals and structure of the book. Chapter 2 discusses different types of variation and introduces the basic concepts of variationist linguistics, including variables and variants, the principle of accountability, the importance of defining the variable context, and the difference between form-based and function-based approaches to studying linguistic variation. Chapter 3 discusses the analysis of linguistic variation in detail, contrasting categorical rules with variable rules, modeling relationships between variants, methods of calculating relative frequencies, testing hypotheses and methods for determining whether differences in frequency are statistically meaningful. Chapter 4 discusses the use of GoldVarb, a computer program that figures prominently in variationist linguistics, and proceeds step by step through multivariate analysis, including preparing token files and conducting single- and multi-factor analysis, as well as discussing the limitations of GoldVarb and methods for overcoming them. Chapter 5 provides a detailed discussion of variation in sound systems, including different types of phonetic and phonological variables, defining the variable context for these variables, methods for measuring phonetic variation and the different constraints conditioning the variation. Chapter 6 provides an overview of variation above the level of phonology, including different types of grammatical variable, approaches to the problem of defining the variable context and the different types of factor that condition grammatical variation. Chapter 7 applies the principles of variationist linguistics to issues in language change and grammaticalization, using linguistic conditioning to test different models of change. Chapter 8 focuses on the linguistic consequences of language contact, using the variationist method to answer questions of linguistic system membership in adult second language acquisition, convergence and pidgin/creole studies. Chapter 9 explores ways in which linguistic variation can be accommodated within linguistic theory. It is hoped that the book will spur discussion in all of these areas.

1.3  Further Reading

Chambers, J.K. 2008. Sociolinguistic Theory. Revised edition. Oxford and Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Chambers, J.K., Peter Trudgill and Natalie Schilling-Estes (eds.), 2002. The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Oxford and Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Paolillo, John C. 2002. Analyzing Linguistic Variation. Stanford, CA: CSLI Publications.

Tagliamonte, Sali. 2006. Analysing Sociolinguistic Variation. Oxford and Malden, MA: Blackwell.

2 Variation and Variables

2.0 Introduction

The previous chapter outlined the themes we will explore in this book. However, before we embark on an overview of studies of linguistic variation, we need to clarify what we mean by “variation”, since this term is used in linguistics in a number of different senses, not all of which are relevant for our purposes. In this chapter, we begin by discussing the different definitions of variation and defining the sense in which it is used in this book. We then introduce a number of basic concepts in the analysis of linguistic variation, which it will be important to understand before proceeding to the following chapters. We begin by defining what we mean by “variation”, before introducing the concept of the variable and variants. We discuss the principle of accountability and the importance of defining the variable context. We also consider the difference between form-based and function-based approaches to defining the variable context.

2.1 What is “Variation”?

In its broadest sense, variation refers to differences in linguistic form. In this sense, languages obviously differ from each other on a number of different levels.

Most salient and perhaps most trivial are lexical and phonological differences. Speakers are most conscious of linguistic differences in words and sounds. Listeners identify whether I am speaking English or Spanish by whether I refer to my household pet as [k^hæt] or [gato]. Some languages have sounds that other languages do not have. For example, English has an interdental fricative [θ], as in think and bath, which presents problems for English learners whose first language is French or Chinese, which do not have this sound. Conversely, English does not have a velar fricative [x], which presents a problem for English speakers who learn German, which does have this sound, as in Bach. Spanish distinguishes five vowels (/i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/), while Arabic distinguishes only three (/i/, /a/ and /u/).

Grammatical differences (that is, differences in morphology and syntax) are no less important, though they are apparently much less salient. Speakers rarely if ever comment on grammatical differences between languages, which take a number of forms. First, languages differ according to basic word order. For instance, as the example sentences in (2.1) show, English and Chinese are Subject–Verb–Object languages, Japanese and Tamil are Subject–Object–Verb languages, and Gaelic and Arabic are Verb–Subject–Object languages.

(2.1)	Subject-Verb-Object
	a. English	the-womanSubject sawVerb the-childrenObject
	b. Chinese	fùniüSubject kànjianVerb xiaohairObject
	Subject-Object-Verb
	c. Japanese	onna-gaSubject kodomo-oObject mitaVerb
	d. Tamil^1	peŋSubject KunzandaiObject paar-tt-aa]Verb
	Verb-Subject-Object
	e. Gaelic	chunnaicVerb a’bheanSubject a’chlannObject
	f. Arabic^2	ra’aatVerb al-mar’aatSubject al-awladObject

Languages also differ according to the way that relations between the s...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Figures
• Tables
• Linguistic Corpora and Abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Variation and Variables
• 3 The Analysis of Linguistic Variation
• 4 Multivariate Analysis with GoldVarb
• 5 Variation in Sound Systems
• 6 Variation in Grammatical Systems
• 7 Language Change
• 8 Language Contact
• 9 Conclusion
• Notes
• References
• Index