The Future of Usage‐Based Sociolinguistics

Abstract

Sociolinguistic research in the quantitative paradigm often relies on speech samples taken from informal interviews and semi-formal conversations, with the aim of tracing language variation and change, as well as documenting the social values associated with linguistic forms. The usage-based approach has provided a means by which to examine the role of frequency effects on variation in speech corpora, determining how processes such as lenition are influenced by usage. This chapter first presents a brief history of theoretical frameworks employed in variationist sociolinguistics, contrasting formal theories to those rooted in functional frameworks, such as the usage-based approach. Next, it reviews the ways frequency has been considered in sociolinguistic research at the lexical, typological, and contextual levels to account for patterns of variation. Pending issues regarding the measurement of frequency, the need for more shared interdisciplinary theory, and ways of combining social factors with cognitive representations of grammar are discussed.

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