How I got into linguistics, and what I got out of it

Select list Of William Labov’s writings

For a much more complete bibliography, see Towards a Social Science of Language: Papers in honor of William Labov ed. by Gregory R. Guy, Crawford Feagin et al., vol.II: Social Interaction and Discourse Structures (Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins, 1996), 339–352.

1963

 “The Social Motivation of Language Change”. Word 191.273–309. (Repr. in Labov 1972b.1–42.) [M. A. thesis, Columbia University, New York 1963.]

1964

 “Phonological Correlates of Social Stratification”. The Ethnography of Communication ed. by John J. Gumperz & Dell H. Hymes, 164–176. Menasha, Wis.: American Anthropological Association.

1965

 “On the Mechanism of Linguistic Change”. Report on the 16th Annual Round Table on Linguistics and Language Studies ed. by Charles W. Kreidler, 91–114. Washington, D. C.: Georgetown University Press. (Repr. in Labov 1972b 160–182.)

1966a

 The Social Stratification of English in New York City. Washington, D. C.: Center for Applied Linguistics. [3rd printing 1982, with a “Preface to the Third Edition” (iii–iv), an index (471–483), and a historically interesting “Postscript” (484–501). Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, New York 1964.]

1966b

 “Hypercorrection by the Lower Middle Class as a Factor of Linguistic Change”. Sociolinguistics: Proceedings of the UCLA Conference ed. by William Bright, 83–113. The Hague: Mouton. (Repr. in Labov 1972b.122–142.)

1966c

 “The Effect of Social Mobility on Linguistic Behavior”. Explorations in Sociolinguistics ed. with an introd. by Stanley Lieberson, 58–75. The Hague: Mouton 1967.

1969a

 “The Logic of Non-Standard English”. Linguistics and the Teaching of Standard English to Speakers of Other Languages and Dialects ed. by James E. Alatis, 1–44. Washington, D. C.: Georgetown University Press.

1969b

 “Contraction, Deletion, and Inherent Variability of the English Copula”. Language 451.715–762.

1970

 “The Study of Language in Its Social Context”. Studium Generale 201.30–87. (Repr. in Labov 1972b.183–259.)

1972a

 “The Social Setting of Linguistic Change”. Labov 1972b.260–325. (Also published in Current Trends in Linguistics ed. by Thomas A. Sebeok, vol.XI1, 195–251. The Hague: Mouton 1973.)

1972b

 Sociolinguistic Patterns. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

1972c

 Language in the Inner City: Studies in the black English vernacular. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

1982

 “Building on Empirical Foundations”. Perspectives on Historical Linguistics ed. by Winfred P. Lehmann & Yakov Malkiel, 17–92. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.

1992

 “Evidence for Regular Change in English Dialect Geography”. History of Englishes: New methods and interpretations in historical linguistics ed. by Matti Rissanen et al., 42–71. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter.

1994

 Principles of Linguistic Change. Volume I1: Internal factors. Oxford & Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Blackwell.

1997a

 “Co-Existent Systems in African-American Vernacular English”. The Structure of African-American English: Structure, history and use ed. by Salikoko Mufwene, John Rickford, Guy Bailey & John Baugh, 110–153. London & New York: Routledge.

1997b

 (With Sharon Ash). “Understanding Birmingham”. Language Variety in the South Revisited ed. by Cynthia Bernstein, Thomas Nunnally & Robin Sabino, 508–573. Tuscaloosa, Ala.: University of Alabama Press.

2001a

 Principles of Linguistic Change. Volume II1: Social factors. Oxford & Cambridge, Mass.: Basil Blackwell.

2001b

 “Applying Our Knowledge of African English to the Problem of Raising Reading Levels in Inner-City Schools’. African American English: State of the art ed. by Sonja Lanehart, 299–317. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins.