Onomázein
                                                                                      ISSN: 0717-1285
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                                                                                      Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
                                                                                      Chile
                                                                                  
                                                             Bleoru, Cristina; Cuevas-Alonso, Miguel
                                     Sali A. Tagliamonte: Variationist Sociolinguistics. Change, Observation, Interpretation
                                                        Onomázein, núm. 28, diciembre, 2013, pp. 42-49
                                                             Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
                                                                          Santiago, Chile
                                                 Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=134530174021
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                   Revista semestral de lingüística, filología y traducción
                   RESEÑA / REVIEW
                  Sali A. Tagliamonte:
                  Variationist Sociolinguistics. 
                  Change, Observation, Interpretation
                  (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. 402 pages)
                   Cristina Bleor¸tu                Miguel Cuevas-Alonso
                   Universidad de Oviedo, España    Universidad de Vigo, España
                   cbleortu@hotmail.com             mcuevasalonso@gmail.com
   28             ONOMÁZEIN 28 (diciembre de 2013): 42-49
  Diciembre       DOI: 10.7764/onomazein.28.6
    2013
                                                                       ONOMÁZEIN 28 (diciembre de 2013): 42 - 49
                                                                        Cristina Bleor¸tu y Miguel Cuevas-Alonso       43
                            Sali A. Tagliamonte: Variationist Sociolinguistics. Change, Observation, Interpretation
                  Our purpose in this review is to outline the        for example, Tagliamonte, 1999-2001, 2002, 2003-
             core tenets of Tagliamonte’s book titled Varia-          2006, 2006). By and large, this book owes a great 
             tionist Sociolinguistics. Change, Observation, In-       deal to these previous studies. However, over 
             terpretation. Then we will discuss those issues          the years the author’s interest has grown for this 
             germane to variationism which whetted many               discipline; she has enriched her research as this 
             linguists curiosity and which, of course, sparked        work is therefore, first and foremost, an extre-
             Tagliamonte’s interest.                                  mely successful attempt to write a variationism 
                  It is important to recognize that the prepa-        textbook, which may be a useful route for stu-
             ring of this book would not have been possible if        dents and researchers to a better understanding 
             the author had not assumed a previous number             of language variation, in particular thanks to its 
             of influences on conceptualizing and analyzing           way of laying out the most important problems 
             sociolinguistic problems. This work is on some           of this sociolinguistic approach.
             variationism theoretical issues with their practi-            The linguist mapped out the gestation of 
             cal implications as they were assumed by many            this research by focussing on 12 empirically well 
             researchers. Indeed, the view of Tagliamonte’s           grounded chapters meshed with previous ideas 
             research is typical of the variationist school,          carried out by other scholars. The first chapter 
             which has dominated the last decades, through            provides an essential background for a “socio-
             the work of scholars like Labov (1963, 1969, 1972,       linguistic variation theory.” Chapters 2 & 3 deal 
             1983, 1994, 2001, 2010), Dittmar (1976, 1989), Nor-      with the social and linguistic constraints. To-
             dberg (1980), Romaine (1982, 1996), Moreno Fer-          gether with the fourth chapter, the fifth one at-
             nández (1988, 1990, 1997, 1998), López Morales           tempts to explain the sociolinguistic methodo-
             (1989), Blas Arroyo (2005), Fought (2004), Kiesling      logy. The following chapter is concerned with 
             (2011), Tagliamonte (2006), Silva Corvalán (1989,        comparative sociolinguistics, while the applica-
             2001), Serrano (2011a), etc. They proposed univer-       tion of various linguistic methods in the study 
             sal laws of linguistic change and variation.             of phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics is 
                  Like so many other studies, this book explo-        further illuminated by the findings of the chap-
             res some of the ways language variation works.           ters 7-11. Finally, the last chapter examines how 
             It tries to give a new comprehensive overview of         linguistic variation is influenced by underlying 
             variationism, adding new knowledge and new               linguistic abilities and also by social factors and 
             insights to this fruitful methodological proposal.       socio-cultural background of the interlocutors. 
             It can be regarded as a key to the conception of         Each chapter of this book offers fairly lengthy 
             linguistic variation, delving deeply into many ap-       discussions about some problematic aspects re-
             proaches to variation and complementing them.            lated to the variationist sociolinguistic research 
             But most captivating—and most interesting—is             and various stimulating exercises relevant to the 
             that it is a research that questions some socio-         topics discussed.
             linguistics concepts, in particular those which               As a point of departure, the fundamental 
             for far too long promoted twilight situations in         questions, with which the opening chapter faces 
             this field. It is also an accessible textbook which      up, are about the genesis and the development 
             offers to the students hands-on practical expe-          of linguistic change and variation. Dr. Taglia-
             rience through some activities.                          monte reviews variationism in its various gui-
                  The interest in sociolinguistics has always         ses and raises some of the underlying questions 
             occupied a central place in Professor Taglia-            and ideas the readers should bear in their minds 
             monte’s  scientific  preoccupations  and  had  a         throughout the book. In addition, she focuses in 
             great impact on her professional interests (see,         particular on a variationist theory of sociolin-
                                                                       ONOMÁZEIN 28 (diciembre de 2013): 42 - 49
                                                                        Cristina Bleor¸tu y Miguel Cuevas-Alonso       44
                            Sali A. Tagliamonte: Variationist Sociolinguistics. Change, Observation, Interpretation
             guistics, limiting it to fundamental concepts like       linguistics, in the second half of this chapter, 
             the linguistic variable, the principle of accoun-        the scholar attempts to carefully document us 
             tability, and she examines the impact of each            about some core concepts. Tagliamonte’s idea 
             of them on linguistic variation (see Labov, 1969,        of linguistic variables meaning has a mani-
             1972; Romaine, 1994; Cerdergren & Sankoff, 1974,         festly previous origin. In this sense, first of all, 
             for more detailed information).                          the conceptual dimension of it can be grasped 
                  Firstly, we may well observe that the author        in the words of Sapir (1921: 147), who has made 
             provides helpful clues in defining sociolinguis-         similar discoveries adding his own penetrating 
             tics as “the interaction between language, cul-          insight: “Everyone knows that language is va-
             ture and society” (p. 1). As beneficiary of several      riable” and, secondly, it is important to notice 
             years rich in variationism studies, Tagliamonte          that Tagliamonte’s definition of linguistic varia-
             has infinitely larger sources to draw upon. It is        bles follows a very clearly marked path, being 
             worth noting that, for instance, in a work of 1980       quite similar to Cedergren’s one, who describes 
             (1980: 83), Hudson made some shrewd criticism            them as “un conjunto de equivalencia de rea-
             of sociolinguistics and demonstrated that there          lizaciones o expresiones de un mismo elemen-
             was a very strong connection between langua-             to o principio subyacente” (1983: 150). Indeed, 
             ge, society and culture. This view is similar to         Tagliamonte’s definition turns out to be as clear-
             that of Newmeyer (1988), who considers this dis-         cut as Cedergren’s one: “A linguistic variable is 
             cipline as the relation between “language and            the alternation of forms, or ‘layering’ of forms, in 
             sociocultural context” and it is closely associa-        language” (p. 2).
             ted with the one which argues that sociolinguis-              The linguist spends the rest of this chapter 
             tics studies the “relation between language and          looking in detail at the principle of accountabi-
             society” (see, for example, Labov, 1972), a defini-      lity. Developing the work of earlier scholars, the 
             tion which sheds less light on the nature of the         author leaves us not only with a general view 
             discipline.                                              of this principle, but also with a general discus-
                  All in all, it is clear that Tagliamonte’s prefe-   sion about a set of items in relation to this topic 
             rence is therefore for the first view, pointing out      (the difficulties of using quantitative methodo-
             that one should take account and be aware of             logy, the set up of variables and interpretative 
             the cultural dimension, too. What is evident is          criteria, etc.) using some examples, a discussion 
             that  the  definition  of  sociolinguistics  covered     which can be helpful for the readers.
             here seems more relevant than the other since                 The notion of some kind of social patterns 
             the study of society in relation to language de-         (class, education, style, sex) is covered in the se-
             fines what is generally known as the sociology           cond chapter. Professor Tagliamonte explores 
             of language. To obtain some idea of the extent           them in a new and more dynamic way in the 
             to which such a term may be defined, Dr. Taglia-         sense they are envisioned through a series of 
             monte, in addition to these views, delves into a         previous studies. We note that some of the ideas 
             little more to argue that the target of sociolin-        drawn by the author in the discussion of these 
             guistics might be “everyday speech” (Sankoff,            factors serve to guide the readers since she cri-
             1980: 54) or “real language in use” (Milroy, 1992:       ticizes some studies in the wake of the general 
             66). The manner in which the author defines so-          interest and approaches which these factors 
             ciolinguistics may seem very satisfactory, since         have received. The great advantage in opera-
             she presents various definitions of this discipli-       ting with such a complete picture of different 
             ne and unifies them all in a single one.                 previous perspectives is that it allows readers 
                  Having established the definition of socio-         to get in touch with a solid foundation for the