Empirical insights for experimental grammar from sociophonology (2/4)

Jane Stuart-Smith (Glasgow University)
Expanding the language base

This seminar will consider biases introduced into linguistic theory from two related perspectives: 1) on the one hand, the impact of the range and nature of linguistic varieties used to test linguistic theoretical constructs; 2) and on the other, the role of context and culture in which linguists work, on linguistic theories per se. It will show how working beyond the usual remit of standard language varieties, and/or more than one dialect/sociolect, and/or language, can refine and extend theoretical assumptions about linguistic structures. But it will also show how linguistic theoretical frameworks are themselves tightly connected to cultural assumptions, and in turn, how this can constrain their informativity and explanatory power.