This course will survey the most influential research in Variationist Sociolinguistics focusing on theory, analysis and interpretation. Several case studies from different levels of grammar will be used to demonstrate how language change can be usefully studied in time, space and social context. We will also consider methodological and statistical modeling techniques used to analyze linguistic change, including the comparative sociolinguistic approach. What questions arise? Where can current research be pushed forward and how?
Students will develop skills and knowledge in Variationist Sociolinguistics. They will learn how speech communities preserve the tracks of linguistic change in variable linguistic patterns and further, how varieties can be located along a trajectory of linguistic change. It will begin with a lecture style and develop into a hands on approach to analyzing variation. Everyone will come away with fresh ideas for tackling the analysis and explanation of linguistic change.