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William Labov (born December 4, 1927) is a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania. He is widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of quantitative sociolinguistics and pursues research in sociolinguistics and dialectology. Image File history File links William_Labov. ... Image File history File links Sound-icon. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Image File history File links Sound-icon. ... December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist. ... The University of Pennsylvania (Penn is the moniker used by the university itself [2]) is a private, nonsectarian research university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used. ... A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ...

Born in Rutherford, New Jersey, he studied at Harvard (1948) and worked as an industrial chemist (1949-61) before turning to linguistics. For his MA thesis he completed a study of change in the dialect of Martha's Vineyard, which was presented before the Linguistic Society of America to great acclaim. Labov took his PhD at Columbia University (1963). He taught at Columbia (1964-70) before becoming a professor of linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania (1971), and then became director of the university's Linguistics Laboratory (1977). The methods he used to collect data for his study of the varieties of English spoken in New York City, published as The Social Stratification of English in New York City (1966), have been influential in social dialectology. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, his studies of the linguistic features of African American Vernacular English (AAVE) were also influential: he argued that AAVE should not be stigmatized as substandard but respected as a variety of English with its own grammatical rules, although speakers of AAVE may often want to learn standard American English for interactions in society at large. He is also noted for his seminal studies of the way ordinary people structure narrative stories of their own lives. Map highlighting Rutherfords location within Bergen County. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ... Harvard University campus (old map) Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... Map of Marthas Vineyard. ... Columbia University is a private university in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City and a member of the Ivy League. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World[1], Gotham [2], Metropolis Location Location in the state of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,214. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... African American Vernacular English (AAVE), also called Black English, Black Vernacular, or Black English Vernacular (BEV), is a type variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language. ...

His works include Language in the Inner City: Studies in Black English Vernacular (1972), Sociolinguistic Patterns (1972), Principles of Linguistic Change (vol.I Internal Factors, 1994; vol.II Social Factors, 2001), and, together with Sharon Ash and Charles Boberg, The Atlas of North American English (2006). 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• William Labov's home page
• Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology and Sound Change (Mouton de Gruyter, 2006)
• Interview with William Labov
• NPR story "American Accent Undergoing Great Vowel Shift"