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Robert Bayley & Dennis R. Preston (eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation. (Studies in bilingualism, 10.) Amsterdam & Philadelphia: Benjamins, 1996. Pp. xviii, 317. Hb $79.00.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1999

Elaine Tarone
Elaine Tarone
Affiliation:
English as a Second Language, ILASLL, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, etarone@maroon.tc.umn.edu
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Abstract

Preston's Preface identifies a gaping hole in the domain of SLA research: a “relative neglect ... of the insights to be gained from the quantitative study of interlanguage variation” (p. xiv). The book is intended to remedy that defect by providing (a) a clear rationale for the use of quantitative sociolinguistic methods to study interlanguage variation; (b) seven exemplary studies which use multivariate analysis of linguistic variation for this purpose; and (c) a practical, step-by-step manual on how to use VARBRUL computer programs to analyze variable interlanguage data. Readers of this book should come away with a very clear idea of why and when this sort of analysis should be done, and how to use this powerful tool in analyzing their own data.

Type
REVIEWS
Information
Language in Society , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , July 1999 , pp. 478 - 480
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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