Why dat now?: Linguistic-anthropological contributions to the explanation of sociolinguistic icons and change

One way to renew conversation between linguistic anthropology and sociolinguistics is to bring concepts of linguistic ideology to the explanation of the iconization of specific sociolinguistic variables and associated sociolinguistic change. Sociolinguists such as Eckert (2000) and Milroy (2004) have made provocative efforts to incorporate linguistic-anthropological concepts into sociolinguistic explanation. What is still lacking is a full explanation of why specific linguistic variables emerge from the flow of speech and social life to become sociolinguistic icons or emblems and set off relatively rapid or intense changes. This article brings Joseph Errington's (1985) use of the concept of pragmatic salience to bear on insights gleaned from vanguard sociolinguistic and linguistic-anthropological work. Drawing on empirical examples from a spectrum of studies, a model is sketched from these elements to suggest an account of how an ideological bent directs linguistic change. Adapted from the source document.