Any other Aspie's like sociolinguistics?

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It was my "obsession" for a few years in my early 20's. What about anyone else?

I'm fascinated by it. I took some courses on it in college.

I know what linguistics is, but not what sociolinguistics is exactly.

It's definitely very interesting. I never realized how much social class affects a persons speech until I had an interest in recognizing linguistic characteristics. Going from Starbucks to a Tim Horton's is a different linguistic world.. if you know what I mean. A lot of the elite class doesn't even use Canadian Raising for example while it's to the extreme in the poor.

You should read Labov's 1966 study on New York speech based upon the "class" of store one patronizes.

Patronizing Mays (now closed) was supposed to make you "low class."

Macy's is considered "medium."

Sake Fifth Avenue "high class."

They said you was shoppin' at Saks, well that was just a lie...

You really should read that study, Bethanny, if you haven't already.

It's a prime example of sociolinguistics in action.

A little treat. He also has a naturally strong ''raise'' which I'm surprised he didn't try to tone down in the video. Other Canadian linguists practically bite their tongue down while saying ''out and about'' (James Harbeck I am looking at you).

I'm fascinated by almost anything to do with words and how people use them. I've never studied it formally and I wouldn't claim to be any kind of any expert on any aspect of it, but I'll read anything I come across that isn't technically over my head, and I like to collect my own little observations from watching the people around me interact. One of my internet favourites is Language Log <link> - it has a nice mix of "bite size" articles about different aspects of linguistics, written by professionals, but not too technical for lay readers like me.

It isn't my "obsession", but I think it's an interesting topic. I'm studying translation at university, so I had to study many different aspects of the English language (phonetics, grammar, its history, etc.) and sociolinguistics was one of the topics I liked best.

Sociolingustics can almost be said to be "linguistics in action," or "linguistics in the real world."

Yes, even now. Dialects are most interesting. I like to simulate my own little worlds sometimes. I make a founder population and have it conquer some other areas and colonize it (like what happens in our own world all the time, just look at the Indo-Europeans, Sino-Tibetans, Austronesians, Afro-Asiatics or whoever you like). After they settle new land masses the dialects start to diverge, new customs and society are created. I like to create the languages afterwards and make small changes over time, like adding new words for plants and making city layouts, housing, etc. That's only in my human world like sims, the other ones get weird.

I'm not a fan of the terms high and low class. Bumholes can shop at Saks. Really kind people can be found shopping at dollar stores. It's how we treat others that determines our worth.

Only recently the New York Daily News tried to court Nordstroms to get more advertising. A Nordstrom's rep politely explained to them that "the problem is that your readers are our shoplifters".

lol....note that I used the term "supposedly."

I know very well that "bumholes" shop at Saks,

I'm not a big fan of dollar stores---but it's not because they "lack class," it's because each dollar store tends to have the same stuff--yet my wife likes to go to multiple dollar stores just to compare prices.

And I read the Daily News....and the Post.

I like the coffee mugs and candles out of the dollar stores. Your wife seems cool.