Letter Writing and Language Change

de Anita Auer, Daniel Schreier, Richard J. Watts

"Letter Writing and Language Change outlines the historical sociolinguistic value of letter analysis, both in theory and practice. The chapters in this volume make use of insights from all three 'Waves of Variation Studies', and many of them, either implicitly or explicitly, look at specific aspects of the language of the letter writers in an effort to discover how those writers position themselves and how they attempt, consciously or unconsciously, to construct social identities. The letters are largely from people in the lower strata of social structure, either to addressees of the same social status or of a higher status. In this sense the question of the use of 'standard' and/or 'nonstandard' varieties of English is in the forefront of the contributors' interest. Ultimately, the studies challenge the assumption that there is only one 'legitimate' and homogenous form of English or of any other language"-- "Unlike formal writing, informal writing is much closer to spoken language, so studying letters from the past provides us with clues to the development of nonstandard varieties of English. Led by a team of experts, this book draws on a range of informal letter corpora and outlines the historical sociolinguistic value of letter analysis, both in theory and practice. By looking at specific aspects of the language used by writers, this book aims to discover how they positioned themselves in society and how they attempted, consciously or unconsciously, to construct social identities. This study challenges the assumption that there is only one 'legitimate' and homogenous form of English or of any other language. It questions 'standard' language ideologies and highlights the importance of non-standard vernacular forms. A valuable addition to the field, this book will be welcomed by sociolinguists, historical linguists and social historians"--