Sociolinguistic Variation in Seventeenth-Centur. Ayres-Bennett Hardcover<|

Sociolinguistic Variation in Seventeenth-Century FranceMethodology and Case Studies\nAuthor(s): Wendy Ayres-Bennett\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521820882, 978-0521820882\nSynopsis\nThis book provides a systematic study of sociolinguistic variation in seventeenth-century France. Drawing on a range of case studies, Wendy Ayres-Bennett makes available data about linguistic variation in this period, showing the wealth and variety of language usage at a time that is considered to be the most 'standardising' in the history of French. Variation is analysed in terms of the speaker's 'pre-verbal constitution' - such as gender, age and socio-economic status - or by the medium, register or genre used. As well as examining linguistic variation itself, the book also considers the fundamental methodological issues that are central to all socio-historical linguistic accounts and, more importantly, addres.