William Labov
William Labov | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 4, 1927 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 17, 2024 (aged 97) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Known for | Variationist sociolinguistics |
| Spouses |
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| Children | 7, including Alice Goffman |
| Academic background | |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Columbia University (MA, PhD) |
| Doctoral advisor | Uriel Weinreich |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Linguist |
| Institutions | Columbia University University of Pennsylvania |
| Notes | |
Labov's curriculum vitae | |
William David Labov (/ləˈboʊv/ lə-BOHV; December 4, 1927 – December 17, 2024) was an American linguist widely regarded as the founder of the discipline of variationist sociolinguistics. He has been described as "an enormously original and influential figure who has created much of the methodology" of sociolinguistics, and "one of the most influential linguists of the 20th and 21st centuries".
Labov was a professor in the linguistics department of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and pursued research in sociolinguistics, language change, and dialectology. He retired in 2015 but continued to publish research until his death in 2024.