When intuitions (don't) fail: Combining syntax and sociolinguistics in the analysis of Scots

E Jamieson, Jennifer Smith, David Adger, Caroline Heycock, Gary Thoms

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

A perennial problem for sociolinguists interested in morphosyntactic variation is that such forms are often low frequency, making quantitative analysis difficult or impossible. However, sociolinguists have been generally reluctant to adopt methodologies from syntax, such as acceptability data gleaned from speaker intuition, due to the belief that these judgments are not necessarily reliable. In this article we present data from the Scots Syntax Atlas, which employs sociolinguistic methodologies in spoken data alongside the results of acceptability judgments. We target three morphosyntactic variables and compare and contrast these across the two data types in order to assess the reliability of the judgment data at community level. The results show that reliability is variable-dependent. For some variables, there is clear correlation; with others, it appears that, as Labov (1996) phrased it, ‘intuitions fail’. We discuss how factors such as salience, social stigma and local identity combine to govern the reliability of judgment data.

Original languageEnglish
JournalEnglish Language and Linguistics
Early online date13 Sept 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 13 Sept 2024

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • acceptability judgments
  • sociolinguistics
  • syntax
  • dialect
  • Scots

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  • The Scots Syntax Atlas

    Smith, J., Adger, D., Aitken, B., Heycock, C., Jamieson, E., Thoms, G., Chien, S., Macleod, F. & Aitken, B., 1 Dec 2019

    Research output: Non-textual formWeb publication/site

    Open Access

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