Stylistic Models in Sociolinguistics and Social Philosophy : Keynote Article

Abstract

The emergence of new theoretical paradigms along the history of scientific revolutions always occurs in tune with the social philosophy of their time. Historical periods or schools of thought cannot be treated as discrete entities, since they are built upon the immediately preceding stage from which they start and which they normally react against. Stylistic models in Sociolinguistics have not been unaware of the social philosophy of their time. While everybody would agree that intra-speaker variation is a phenomenon conditioned by extralinguistic factors, the resources and mechanisms for reflecting its presence in language production and effective social meaning have been associated with different linguistic constructs and theories trying to account for its nature and functioning. The aim of this paper is to explore and illustrate the main different theoretical models developed to account for the nature, motivations and mechanisms for the use and effect of style-shifting in social interaction: Audio-monitoring, Audience Design, Script Design, Register Model and Speaker Design.

Keywords: sociolinguistics, style-shifting, intra-speaker and inter-speaker variation, reactive/proactive speakers