Methods for studying variation and change

The usual method adopted to satisfy the need for natural, spontaneous speech and many tokens is the sociolinguistic interview. The classic interview involves several hours of speech from every speaker. The interviewer tries to encourage casual speech by discussing topics such as childhood reminiscences and games, and personal anecdotes of dangerous, spiritual, or supernatural experiences the speaker may have had. With luck, during an extended interview the interviewee will also speak to someone other than an interviewer for a while; this is assumed to capture even more naturalistic speech.