Age Grading in Sociolinguistic Theory

Distinguishing linguistic change at the community level (‘generational change’) from linguistic change at the individual level (‘age grading’) is “one of the major issues in contemporary sociolinguistics” ( Tagliamonte 2012:247 ). This article gives a brief history of the study of language change in the community, before turning to the types of linguistic behavior that have been observed across individuals’ lifespans. The article also discusses...