SELIM 18.indb


José Luis Martínez-Dueñas, SELIM 18 (2011): 175–180ISSN: 1132–631X

Hernández-Campoy, Juan Manuel and J. Camilo Conde-
Silvestre eds. 2012: The Handbook of Historical Sociolinguistics. 
Malden and Oxford, Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 674. ISBN: 1-4051-
9068-X. £110.

The rise of sociolinguistics at the end of the twentieth century was not an isolated phenomenon and 
it brought about major changes and developments in the 

study of language. As Petyt (1980) remarked, the transition ] om 
rural dialectology to urban dialectology marked a new study in 
the consideration of language and society, and this would show 
in the fi eld of historical linguistics too. The traditional concerns 
of philological origin were going to change overnight given the 
insights provided by the new research which was being carried out 
in terms of the study of change in progress and the components of 
the community of speakers, which showed in some inceptive works 
that would exert a great infl uence (Trudgill 1974, Hudson 1980).

At the beginning of the twenty-fi rst century the concern with 
historical sociolinguistics is an accomplished fact. This volume 
proves the advance taken over in this new discipline, which is the 
merger of considerations of language and society, and historical 
synchronies, together with a diachronic survey of linguistic 
phenomena. The book is a good example of integrative and 
comprehensive views on the subject and its fi ve parts represent fi ve 
major perspectives. Part I, the study of “Origins and theoretical 
assumptions,” contains a clear exposition of the relationship between 
the study of synchrony and diachrony and the developments of its 
applications. It is interesting to note the study of variation as a 
contemporary phenomenon and the micro-linguistic and macro-
linguistic approaches. The consideration of social history and 
linguistic facts is central to an understanding based upon context. 
This is central to major studies as the recent work on American 
English by Bailey (2012) shows.



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The second part, titled “Methods for the sociolinguistic study 
of the history of languages,” contains chapters showing a variegated 
concern. It is outstanding the consideration of the quantitative 
paradigm with all its intricacies of representativeness and empirical 
validity, among others (Hernández-Campoy & Schilling, 63–79). 
The study of the uniformitarian principle by Berg (80–98) deploys 
a considerable amount of case studies on social class, gender, 
and social networks. Other chapters address issues related to the 
study of corpora, letters and diaries, and documents of diff erent 
registers and they all present a clear methodological approach 
though in some cases the reader might have liked a more detailed 
analysis, which is diffi  cult to achieve given the characteristics of 
the chapters. The chapter on literary sources shows an accurate 
description of method and application, specially in the discussion 
of variation and the detailed presentation of varieties of manners of 
writing “Shakespeare” (Anipa, 170–190). The study of ephemeral 
genres and historical synchronies is rather illustrative and is a good 
example of Modern English studies (Percy, 191–210).

It goes without saying that a study of historical sociolinguistics 
must rely upon a coherent view of speech and speakers, and this is 
the subject-matter of Part III, “Linguistic and socio-demographic 
variables.” The study of orthographic variables shows an original 
method of the analysis of spelling and the consideration of the 
variable and its variants (Rukowska & Rössler, 213–236). The 
chapter on phonological variables also provides a strong analysis of 
the notion and its sociolinguistic application, specially in the contrast 
between speech and writing and the appropriate illustrations of 
the varieties of Parisian French and the well-known distinction of 
Mercian and Kentish vowel sounds, a classic. The reference to the 
study of Al-Wer on Jordanian women is interesting to exempli2  
“the role of elegance and prestige.” Auer and Voeste go on to 
analyse grammatical variables and off er a cogent view of method; 
besides, their illustrations are clear examples of variation, variant 
and variables, and change (253–270). Grzega carries out a most 



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interesting analysis of lexical-semantic variables based upon a detailed 
model of processes and forces and a close study of sociocultural 
forces and sociocultural changes. It is salient the analysis based 
upon diff erent types of pseudo-loans, and the taxonomy is well 
explained and accurately applied (271–292). The study of pragmatic 
variables is a must a* er the previous considerations and Jucker and 
Taavitsainen (293–306) tackle this slippery fi eld in a resolute way. 
This is actually a matter of time, since the study of pragmatics 
is relatively recent in contrast with the abundance of grammatical 
studies and its long tradition. The best asset of the chapter is the 
inclusion of units of analysis (expressions, utterances, conversation 
and discourse domains) and this attempt really opens a new fi eld. 
The principles of real time and apparent time analysis are dealt 
with by Kiełwicz-Janowiak (307–331), who addresses the issue in 
terms of gender and society; her illustrations based upon “ladies’ 
books” shed light on the complexity of the theoretical issues. 
Historical sociolinguistics cannot be properly understood without 
a clear approach to social mobility and the infl uence of innovation 
and change, as Conde-Silvestre (332–352) puts it; he stresses the 
role of early adaptations and the references to the Pastons are quite 
explanatory. The topic of religion, linked to the concerns with race 
and ethnicity is aptly expounded by Mesthrie (353–365). This is a 
complex issue and the author solves it gracefully since religion may 
pose many a diffi  culty in terms of information and social networks.

“Historical dialectology, language contact, change and diff usion” 
makes up Part IV. The study of language phylogenesis and the 
explanation of change are issues that require a careful recognition 
of the passage 6 om actuation to propagation as Roberge argues 
cogently (369–386). The chapter by Hickey (387–407) off ers a very 
interesting explanation of the changes in Dublin English as well 
as a complex exposition of internal and external changes in terms 
of diachrony and historical synchronies. The refl ection upon the 
past is not solely restricted to data but to linguistic thought, as 
Joseph does in his chapter (408–426). He reviews Neogrammarian 



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principles and connects them with the study of lexical diff usion and 
transmission: “the Neogrammarian hypothesis of the regularity of 
sound change is foundational to so much else in historical linguistic 
methodology” (422). Ogura (423–450) deals with social networks 
and lexical diff usion and shows the analysis of computational 
modelling on diff erent types of social networks. These networks 
operate in terms of strong or weak ties and the case studies of 
changes are considered as functionally biased or socially biased. 
The social locus of innovating individuals is a point of contention 
for sociolinguists themselves, as Britain explains (451–464). He 
expounds the positions of Labov and the Milroys and off ers his 
own proposal: wave model, cultural hearth model, and counter-
hierarchical model. Britain accounts for the types of infl uence and 
innovation in terms of speakers’ change, mobility, expansion and 
relocation. Meurman-Solin (465–479) and Kehrein (480–500) deal 
with major issues of dialectology: the former on historical varieties 
of Scottish English and the latter on the study of linguistic atlases of 
German. Naturally, the focus cannot be Eurocentric and Toulmin 
(501–519) studies empirical problems and phylogenesis in South 
Asia and Fij i. Multilingualism is thoroughly explained by Schendl 
(520–533) and the samples of the OE period and the late ME period 
are most relevant to the discussion held. The chapter by Schreier 
(521–551) discusses the force of migratory movements and studies 
the formation of a koiné as result of complex social and historical 
adaptations. No view of variation and change is complete without a 
serious refl ection on convergence and divergence, which is provided 
by Wright (552–567), with special reference to Latin and Romance 
languages.

Part V, “Attitudes to language,” comprises fi ve chapters 
containing the most original approaches. James Milroy (571–584) 
focuses on ideological view on language: the ideas of prestige and 
standard language. Milroy gives a solid insight into the problem of 
prescription and law-like linguistic behaviours and emphasises the 
social aspect of the history of a language. Richard Watts (585–606) 



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uses a tunnel and a funnel to explain the traditional conceptions of 
language history and goes on to debunk the myths developed by 
several authors % om Higden in the Polychronicon to Puttenham and 
other Renaissance writers: purity, correction, barbarians, polite uses, 
standard uses. His analysis becomes a good instance of linguistic 
criticism. Langer and Nesse (607–625) provide a deep analysis of 
linguistic purism and off er a revealing taxonomy of observations 
on linguistic purism in historical sociolinguistics: the concern 
with the state of the language, selection of corrupting infl uence, 
a prestigious use, the inherent attributions of the language, the 
identity of “purists.” The reconstruction of prestige patterns is 
the focus of Sairio and Palander-Collin (626–638). They consider 
the infl uence of opinion leaders, the legitimacy of neologisms, the 
distribution of prestige forms between the sexes, the contempt for 
corrupt, clownish or “rusticall” speech and the concern with social 
stigmas. Multilingualism and other related issues make up the core 
of the study by Peersman (639–654) focusing on Medieval Europe 
and the change to vernaculars % om Latin. It is a remarkable study of 
traditional philological consideration under the new sociolinguistic 
approaches including code-switching, and diglossia.

A handbook entails complex editorial plans and is not just a 
collection of good papers. A handbook is an articulate presentation 
of the state of the art and its potentialities and this one is a good 
example for linguistic studies in general, an interesting and 
resourceful volume full of deep insights and innovative perspectives.

José Luis Martínez-Dueñas

University of Granada

References

Bailey, R. 2012: Spea! ng American. A History of English in the United 
States, Oxford, Oxford University Press.



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Hudson, R. A. 1980: Sociolinguistics. Cambridge, Cambridge University 
Press.

Petyt, K. M. 1981: The Study of Dialect. An Introduction to Dialectology. 
London, Deutsch.

Trudgill, P. 1974: Sociolinguistics. An Introduction. Harmondsworth, 
Penguin.

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