LINGUIST List 12.1789

Wed Jul 11 2001

Books: Sociolinguistics

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Paul Peranteau, Sociolinguistics: by Armstrong ; by Blair/Collins (eds.)

John Benjamins Publishing announces two new works in Sociolinguistics:

Nigel Armstrong (University of Leeds)
Social and Stylistic Variation in Spoken French.A comparative approach.
IMPACT: Studies in Language and Society 8
US & Canada: 1 58811 063 X USD 89.00
Rest of world: 90 272 1839 0 NLG 195.00
HB 2001. x, 278 pp.

Many of the assumptions of Labovian sociolinguistics are based on
results drawn from US and UK English, Latin American Spanish and
Canadian French. Sociolinguistic variation in the French of France
has been rather little studied compared to these languages. This
volume is the first examination and exploration of variation in French
that studies in a unified way the levels of phonology, grammar and
lexis using quantitative methods. One of its aims is to establish
whether the patterns of variation that have been reported in French
conform to those reported in other languages. A second important
theme of this volume is the study of variation across speech styles in
French, through a comparison with some of the best-known English
results. The book is therefore also the first to examine current
theories of social-stylistic variation by using fresh quantitative
data. These data throw new light on the influence of methodology on
results, on why certain linguistic variables have more stylistic
value, and on how the strong normative tradition in France moulds
interactions between social and stylistic variation.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

English in Australia.
David Blair and Peter Collins (Macquarie University/University of NSW) 
(editors)
Varieties of English Around the World G26
US & Canada: 1 55619 729 2 USD 114.00
Rest of world: 90 272 4884 2 NLG 250/
HB 2001. vi, 368 pp.

This unique collection fills a ten-year gap in studies on the nature
of Australian English, and it is the first to deal exclusively with
varieties of English on the Australian continent. The book contains
chapters on the phonology, morphology, syntax and the lexicon of the
dialect, and chapters on variation within the dialect that include
Aboriginal and ethnic varieties as well as regional and generational
differences with a focus on questions of Australian identity and
intercultural relations. With selected contributions by Australia's
leading linguists this volume records the most recent developments in
the study of English within Australia.

Contributions by: Peter Collins and David Blair; Felicity Cox and
Sallyanne Palethorpe; Laura Tollfree; Toni Borowsky; Jane Simpson;
Mark Newbrook; Bruce Moore; Susan Butler; Pam Peters; Anna Shnukal;
Ian Malcolm; Michael Clyne, Edina Eisikovits and Laura Tollfree; 
Scott Kiesling; Jane Curtain; David Bradley and Maya Bradley; Colin Yallop;
Arthur Delbridge; Brian Taylor; Barbara M. Horvath and Ronald J. Horvath.

 John Benjamins Publishing Co.
Offices:	Philadelphia 			Amsterdam:
Websites: http://www.benjamins.com 	http://www.benjamins.nl
E-mail: servicebenjamins.com 		customer.servicesbenjamins.nl
Phone: +215 836-1200 +31 20 6304747
Fax: +215 836-1204 +31 20 6739773