Sociolinguistics and Perception

The social perception and evaluation of language are key elements in sociolinguistic phenomena. While perceptual studies have long played a role in the study of linguistic variation, they have not enjoyed central status, in contrast to their widespread use in the field of language attitudes. Recently, however, interest in the perceptual study of variation has grown. Three threads of research on sociolinguistic perception are discussed: the social and affective evaluation of language, the identification of social information from speech and the influence of social information on linguistic comprehension. Finally, methodological and theoretical developments within the field of variation are explored that place perceptual studies at the heart of the variationist enterprise.