Publications

Publication details [#5838]

Labov, William. 1963. The social motivation of a sound change. Word 19 : 273–309.

Publication type

Article in journal

Publication language

English

Keywords

phonological change | social context

Annotation

L. reports his observation of a sound change (a shift in the phonetic position of the first elements of the diphthongs /ay/ and /aw/) in the context of the community life (on the island of Martha's Vineyard) from which it stems.

Reprints

Labov, William. 1972. In Labov, William, ed. Sociolinguistic patterns. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 1–42.