William Labov

William Labov, has researched and studied various elements of the English language, including the grammatical rules of African American Vernacular English and referential indeterminacy (where when confronted with the same object different people call it different things, e.g. cup/mug/beaker). However, the majority of William Labov’s work is in social linguistics and language prestige.

Labov’s most important and relevant language contribution to this day was his focus on the discourse structure in a conversation. Labov created a structural approach for the fundamental problems of discourse structure, these are called narrative categories:

1.     Abstract (A) - The indication that a narrative is about to start and the speaker wants to get the listeners attention.

2.     Orientation (O) - The who, what, where and why of the narrative, set the scene by providing contextual information.

3.     The complicating action (CA) - The main body providing a range of narrative detail.

4.     Resolution (R) - The final events to give narrative closure.

5.     Evaluation (E) – Additions to the basic story to highlight Attitudes/commands the listener’s attention at important moments.

6.     Coda (C) – A sign that the narrative is complete. May include a return to the time frame before the narrative.

The Evaluation (E) can be divided into:

·        External evaluations – Added by the narrator at the time of recounting and not usually part of the series of events.

·        Internal evaluations – Occurring at the same time as those detailed in the complicating action (C) which can further be divided into an intensifying evaluation and an explicative evaluation.

·        Intensifying evaluations – Contributing via gestures, repetitions or dramatic sounds.

·        Explicative evaluations - Proving reasons for narrative events.

      Labov’s approach to Linguistic theory:

•We build a model that corresponds point-for-point to each element of language structure,

•Then we state the rules for relating parts of the model to each other and to the empirical facts.

•Using this model, we attempt to provide an answer to the most general questions, on the basis of whatever information we currently have.

•From the model, make deductions about empirical facts which will confirm or disconfirm it.

•This procedure moves from the unknown to the known. It is rapid and productive, though it does not necessarily have cumulative results. It is deductive, moving from a few examples to the statement of an unrestricted principle, from which we predict further confirmatory facts.

      William Labov:

       

      Born - December 4, 1927

                  Rutherford, New Jersey, US

      Died - N/A 

      Main interest - social linguistics 

      Notable ideas - Narrative catagories~Variationism