On Ek and Jak In Middle Norwegian: Mixed Methods In Historical Sociolinguistics

Abstract

Abstract Work in historical sociolinguistics can broadly be divided into quantitative work which examines population‐level trends in past language use, and qualitative work which documents and explains the usage of individuals or within particular texts. In this paper, we argue for an approach which combines both of these. Using mixed methods we can achieve all the advantages of both qualitative and quantitative approaches, revealing the complexity of language use in real social contexts but situating it in a well‐described view of the historical processes at play. We demonstrate our approach with an exploration of the rise of ‘broken’ forms of the first person singular nominative pronoun in the history of Norwegian. We chart the overall progression and social patterning of the change using kernel density estimation, regression and geographically weighted regression. We then explore the wealth of fascinating local and ephemeral patterns by examining usage of particular individuals and texts.

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