The choice of a variant is submitted to definite regularities. This variation is determinate. So, which factors determine the choice of variants in a person’s speech?
W.Labov and his following say that linguistic behavior depends on such social conditions as the socio-economic status of a speaker, his age and sex. The quantitative and the qualitative approaches are used in studying the influence of social factors on the choice of linguistic variants.
W.Labov is the father of the quantitative approach. One of his works which is dedicated to the social stratification of English language in New York has caused the increase of the quantitative researches. Continue reading
StArt Linguistics 