Language in Society

Preface
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Conceptually, the text is divided into four major sections. The first three chapters 
introduce students to basic notions about the nature of dialectal variation. The next 
chapter, Chapter 4, gives an overview of the history and development of American 
English dialects. Chapters 5 through 9 offer a descriptive account of some of the major 
social factors that relate to variation in American English, including region, social status, 
ethnicity, and gender. In Chapter 10, we discuss how language variation is used – and 
shaped – by individuals in interaction, since after all, it is in everyday interactions that 
larger, enduring patterns of variation, and their social meanings, are forged. We have tried 
to balance approaches from traditional dialectology with advances in the quantitative study 
of language variation while minimizing detailed discussion of the technicalities associated 
with current methods of analysis. The final section, chapters 11 and 12, considers the 
applications of dialect study beyond its scientific value – and its inherent interest to 
scholars and non‐scholars alike as a fascinating area of inquiry. We focus on dialects and 
education but also discuss a variety of ways in which researchers can work collabora-
tively with communities from which they gather data for dialect study.
An updated summary of many of the grammatical and phonological structures that 
serve to distinguish various social and regional dialects from one another is included in 
an appendix to the book and in searchable online format on the companion website.
We are particularly grateful to our village of colleagues who provided invaluable insight 
into and feedback on topic areas covered in the text. These include North Carolina State 
University colleagues Agnes Bolonyai, Robin Dodsworth, Jeff Mielke, Jeffrey Reaser, and 
Erik R. Thomas, and Georgetown University colleagues Deborah Tannen, Jennifer 
Scalfani, Minnie Quartey Annan, Patrick Callier, Caitlin Elizondo, Sakiko Kajino, Jinsok 
Lee, Sinae Lee, and Anastasia Nylund. We would also like to thank our colleagues Kellam 
Barta, Kara Becker, Sara Bunin Benor, Phillip Carter, Katie Carmichael, Elaine Chun, 
May Chung, Carmen Fought, Jon Forrest, Michael Fox, Norma Mendoza‐Denton, Angela 
Reyes, and Tracey Weldon for providing input on some of the new sections on language 
and ethnicity and ethnolinguistic repertoire, as well as Allan Bell for his inspiration and 
insight in revising the chapter on stylistic variation. Reviewers’ comments were invaluable 
during the process of writing this new edition, even when we haven’t shown enough 
sense to follow their advice. We also are indebted to those who guided us in other ways 
along our sociolinguistic path, from the first author’s initial teacher in linguistics as an 
undergraduate student, Roger W. Shuy, to our current classes of students at North 
Carolina State University and Georgetown University. We have been fortunate enough 
to associate with a group of people who have taught us that professional colleagues can 
also be good friends: Carolyn Adger, Bridget Anderson, John Baugh, Robert Bayley, 
Allan Bell, Renee Blake, Charles Boberg, Erin Callahan‐Price, Jack Chambers, Anne 
Charity Hudley, Becky Childs, Patricia Cukor Avila, Donna Christian, Clare Dannenberg, 
Sylvie Dubois, Stephany Dunstan, Connie Eble, Penny Eckert, Charlie Farrington, 
Ralph W. Fasold, Janet Fuller, Cynthia Gordon, Matthew Gordon, Lisa Green, Gregory 
Guy, Heidi Hamilton, Kirk Hazen, Tyler Kendall, Scott Kiesling, Mary Kohn, Bill 
Kretzschmar, Bill Labov, Sonja Lanehart, Jason MacLarty, Christine Mallinson, 

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xvi
Preface
Michael Montgomery, Jennifer Nycz, Otto Santa Ana, Dennis Preston, Paul Reed, John 
Rickford, Deborah Schiffrin, Edgar Schneider, Dani Schreier, Mark Sicoli, John 
Singler, Arthur Spears, Sali Tagliamonte, Ben Torbert, Anna Marie Trester, Peter 
Trudgill, Tracey Weldon, Alicia Wassink, Janneke Van Hofwegen, and Karissa Wojcik, 
among many others who should have been named as well. Thanks for your support and 
friendship. This cast of characters has made academic inquiry much more fun than we 
ever thought it could be. If students can catch just a little bit of enthusiasm for research 
into and respect for language diversity, then we are satisfied.
As we said in previous editions of this text, the writing of a good book is never done – 
and this is no exception. We hope, however, that this is a convenient time to pause and 
reflect once again on the rich diversity of American English and how much we’ve learned 
about it over the years. Who’da thunk it woulda came this far – and remain such an exciting 
linguistic adventure?
Walt Wolfram
North Carolina State University
Natalie Schilling
Georgetown University