Penelope Eckert's work provides a fine ethnographic account of the social organization and social practices of a varied set of Detroit adolescents. At the same time, she builds in a much-needed critique of current sociolinguistic work on the relationship between language variation and social constructs such as class and gender. The work as a whole is an excellent and readable synthesis, representing the current state of the art in sociolinguistics. Lesley Milroy, University of Michigan
Nobody combines the insights of ethnographic study and variation analysis more creatively than Eckert. She invariably connects systematic language variation with the complexities of social practice in a way that challenges our reified interpretations of sociolinguistic behavior. Walt Wolfram, North Carolina State University
Eckert has provided us with an array of priceless information on the local social matrix in which change takes place. If we are not ready to answer every question that might be posed about linguistic change, the first step is to master the rich store of information and insight that she has given us, and to plan our future research with this in mind. Language in Society
List of Tables.
Preface.
Introduction: Variation and Agency.
Interpreting the Meaning of Variation.
The Social Order of Belten High.
Sociolinguistic Research in the School.
The Vocalic Variables.
Outline of Variation in Belten High.
We Are What We Do.
Friendships, Networks, and Communities of Practice.
Style, Social Meaning, and Sound Change.
References.
Index.