This book develops the general principles of linguistic change that form the foundations of historical linguistics, dialectology and sociolinguistics. * Demonstrates the social as well as cognitive relevance of linguistic research* Shows that rapid linguistic change is in progress in the cities of America and England so that urban dialects are becoming more and more differentiated* Discusses factors that govern the internal development of linguistic structures: the mechanisms of change, the constraints on change, and the ways in which change is embedded in the larger linguistic system

Written by the world-renowned pioneer in the field of modern sociolinguistics, this volume examines the cognitive and cultural factors responsible for linguistic change, tracing the life history of these developments, from triggering events to driving forces and endpoints. * Explores the major insights obtained by combining sociolinguistics with the results of dialect geography on a large scale * Examines the cognitive and cultural influences responsible for linguistic change * Demonstrates under what conditions dialects diverge from one another * Establishes an essential distinction between transmission within the community and diffusion across communities * Completes Labov's seminal Principles of Linguistic Change trilogy

This volume presents the long-anticipated results of several decades of inquiry into the social origins and social motivation of linguistic change.* Written by one of the founders of modern sociolinguistics* Features the first complete report on the Philadelphia project designed to establish the social location of the leaders of linguistic change* Includes chapters on social class, neighborhood, ethnicity, gender, and social networks that delineate the leaders of linguistic change as women of the upper working class with a high density of interaction within their neighborhoods and a high proportion of weak ties outside of it

This volume presents the long-anticipated results of several decades of inquiry into the social origins and social motivation of linguistic change.* Written by one of the founders of modern sociolinguistics* Features the first complete report on the Philadelphia project designed to establish the social location of the leaders of linguistic change* Includes chapters on social class, neighborhood, ethnicity, gender, and social networks that delineate the leaders of linguistic change as women of the upper working class with a high density of interaction within their neighborhoods and a high proportion of weak ties outside of it