Variation and the indexical field 1
Abstract
This paper argues for a focus on the social meaning of variation, based in a study of stylistic practice. It is common in the study of variation to interpret variables as reflections of speakers' membership in social categories. Others have argued more recently that variables are associated not with the categories themselves, but with stances and characteristics that constitute those categories. The paper reviews some variation studies that show that variables do not have static meanings, but rather general meanings that become more specific in the context of styles. Building on Michael Silverstein's notion of indexical order, I argue that the meanings of variables are not precise or fixed but rather constitute a field of potential meanings – an indexical field , or constellation of ideologically related meanings, any one of which can be activated in the situated use of the variable. The field is fluid, and each new activation has the potential to change the field by building on ideological connections. Thus variation constitutes an indexical system that embeds ideology in language and that is in turn part and parcel of the construction of ideology.
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One should always be careful generalizing new results outside of the domain they were found as language is often dependent on context.
“One should always be careful generalizing new results outside of the domain they were found as language is often dependent on context [40].”
From Personality, Gender, and Age in the Language of Social Media: The Open-Vocabulary Approach (2013) · cites this paper as [40]
Language connections with psychosocial variables are often dependent on context.
“Language connections with psychosocial variables are often dependent on context [40].”
From Personality, Gender, and Age in the Language of Social Media: The Open-Vocabulary Approach (2013) · cites this paper as [40]
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- Authors
- Eckert, P.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Eckert, Penelope
- ORCID
- Eckert, Penelope
- Venue
- Journal of Sociolinguistics
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2008-08-24
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 453-476
- ISSN
- 1360-6441 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9841
- OpenAlex
- W2147481677
- Cited by
- 2,046
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 145 · 2025: 136 · 2024: 107 · 2023: 154 · 2022: 170 · 2021: 201 · 2020: 161 · 2019: 227 · 2018: 134 · 2017: 123 · 2016: 83 · 2015: 109 · 2014: 102 · 2013: 65 · 2012: 35
- FWCI
- 149.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Sociolinguistics (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Linguistics and Language › Linguistic Variation and Morphology
- Social Sciences › Linguistics and Language › Linguistic and Sociocultural Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
- Keywords
- language variation, Michael Silverstein, stylistic practice, language ideology, social categories, language and ideology
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