American English: Dialects And Variation, Third Edition

A thoroughly revised and updated edition of the classic text, American English: Dialects and Variation, Third Edition, chronicles the ongoing story of language variation in American English. For the first time, this textbook is accompanied by a companion website hosting a wealth of audio and video clips that enhance the themes and discussions of the text. The authors explore contexts ranging from historically isolated, rural dialects to developing, urban ethnic varieties, and include new discussions on Jewish English and Asian American English to complement coverage of African American, Latino, Cajun, and Native American English, as they guide the reader through the evolving theoretical framework of variationist sociolinguistics and its recent breakthroughs.

The engaging and accessible style of this book has long made it a favorite of students and professors alike; with its new features and its glossary and extensive appendix of pronunciation and lexical features of American Englishes, it is sure to be a mainstay of sociolinguistics classes for years to come.

Walt Wolfram is William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor at North Carolina State University, and has authored numerous books includingThe Development of African American English (with Erik Thomas, Blackwell, 2002) andAmerican Voices (co-edited with Ben Ward, Blackwell, 2006). His most recent book isTalkin’ Tar Heel: How Our Voices Tell the Story of North Carolina (2014).

Natalie Schilling is Associate Professor of Linguistics at Georgetown University. She is co-editor ofThe Handbook of Language Variation and Change, second edition (with J. K. Chambers, 2013, Wiley), and author ofSociolinguistic Fieldwork (2013).