Dr. William Labov, the founder of sociolinguistics, died at the age of 97 on December 17, 2024. He was surrounded by loved ones, including his wife, linguist Gillian Sankoff.

Bill was an incredibly influential linguist - to the field as a whole, and to many, many individual students and researchers. He pioneered the quantitative study of variation with his 1963 work about Martha's Vineyard and his 1966 PhD Dissertation: The Social Stratification of English in New York City. Many students have, and continue to be, introduced to the very idea of socially conditioned language variation through his famous Department Store Study. More than that, Bill remained an interested and involved teacher and member of the sociolinguistics community up until the end. Despite his high stature, he always showed genuine interest in the work of anyone he spoke with and had a way of making even the most novice student feel respected as a fellow linguist.

Please use this thread to discuss, mourn, remember, and celebrate the life and career of Bill Labov. Feel free to share any of your own personal memories, or links to any remembrances/posts you've seen on the internet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here are some of the touching tributes that folks have written so far to celebrate his life and legacy (I'll add to this list as I see more):

• Language Log Post
• Væl Space (Josef Freuhwald)
• Remembrance by Betsy Sneller, Labov's last PhD student (you may need to have a Bluesky account to see this)
• NY Times Obituary [gift link]
  
• Philadelphia Inquirer Obituary

PS: I also highly encourage everyone to read this short but inspiring essay by Labov: "How I got into linguistics, and what I got out of it."

As many of you are aware, this past week r/linguistics has been protesting reddit's API changes, first by participating in a multi-subreddit blackout, and later reopening in read-only ("restricted") mode. Reddit's response to the subreddit protest was predictable in some ways (for example, they have made small concessions in terms of accessibility and moderation tools, though it is important to note that these are just promises on a "timeline" and they have not yet delivered on any of these), and shockingly bad in others (see, for example, the CEO's remarks both in leaked memos and publicly to the press).

The mod team feels strongly both about having a place where people can ask questions moderated by experts, but also continuing to protest the actions and behavior of reddit's admins/leadership. Our reopening is line with similarly themed reddits such as AskHistorians and science. For some context, please see AskHistorian's announcement from today about them remaining in "limited operation". The limited reopening of r/linguistics is in that same spirit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/14dd0ae/askhistorians_will_remain_in_limited_operation/

New Rules

1. All posts should be links to academic linguistics articles
2. All questions should go into the weekly Q&A thread

(See our subreddit rules page for full details: https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/wiki/rules )

Why the new rules? We are purposely restricting subreddit traffic to continue to protest reddit's API changes. We also want to keep having a place for people to ask questions about linguistics, and recognize that r/linguistics is a special place for that on the internet. (As a positive side effect, having most moderate-able content one page makes the moderators' job more manageable [for example, reddit's current moderation tools have no way to get an overview of all comments outside of old reddit].)

How long will this last? The new rules are in effect until further notice.

As you might have heard, Reddit recently announced that it would begin charging for access to its API—and not only charging, but charging so much that popular third-party apps will be forced to shut down. Many Reddit users rely on these third-party apps because Reddit’s own app is, to put it mildly, inadequate. These users include:

• Moderators that need an app with decent moderation tools in order to moderate

• Blind and visually impaired users who need a third-party app to use Reddit at all, since neither the website nor the mobile app are designed to be accessible

This change has direct negative impacts on these users. Additionally, there will be indirect impacts; charging for API access is part of a larger trend towards the degradation of the user experience in pursuit of better monetization, which is driving many long-time users and creators of useful tools away from the site. In protest, many subreddits (including ours) will be going dark on Jun 12th-13th.

For more information, including on how you can get involved, I'm including some further reading links:

Further Reading

Reddit's initial announcement of the API changes did not go over well.

r/AskHistorians will also be going dark and will have shared an excellent post that explains the context of this decision, especially with regards to Reddit's history of not supporting moderators/moderation. They posted a follow-up today.

r/Blind explains why this will deplatform many of Reddit's blind or visually impaired users, including the potential permanent shutdown of their subreddit.

r/Save3rdPartyApps is a hub for organizing and tracking protest of this change, and has this post with suggestions for how users who are not moderators can help out (make noise!)

One of the creators of Toolbox (a popular extension that makes a lot of moderation possible) has posted some thoughts about Reddit's response to the user backlash.

As many of you know, we participated in the subreddit blackout starting June 12 to protest the recent API changes. It is now June 15 in most parts of the world, and we have decided to bring r/linguistics back, but in read-only mode.

Why?: We do want the archives of older posts to be available to read, and we also want to continue putting pressure on the reddit admins. Having the subreddit readable also makes it possible to explain to more users why we are doing this (people on mobile were not seeing the explanatory blurb we had put up while the subreddit had gone "private").

What does "read-only" mean?: We've set the subreddit to "restricted" mode, which means no new posts can be created (unless you're an "approved" user, but there aren't any, and we aren't adding any). In addition, all comments (and I do mean all) will be automatically and immediately deleted by a robot.

How long will this last?: r/linguistics will be read-only until further notice.

For more context on what's going on, you can read the first /r/AskHistorians post about the API changes: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/142w159/askhistorians_and_uncertainty_surrounding_the/

and/or their reasoning to join the blackout: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/146xzgk/meta_tomorrow_askhistorians_will_go_private/

and/or their explanation of "restricted" mode, which is probably much better than mine: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1495wpj/askhistorians_is_back_up_but_currently_restricted/

EDIT: we are going to go AskHistorians style and allow comments on this thread at the moderators' discretion. If you have questions about this post or something we haven't addressed in this post, you can comment below, and if a moderator wants to answer they will undelete it and reply. Thank you for your patience during this time.

We're trying out a new feature starting this week. Every Monday, we'll post a Q&A thread where people new to linguistics can post their questions and have them answered by our community. We hope that by providing a dedicated thread, we can cut down on repeat questions while also ensuring that the questions that are asked receive high-quality answers. We also plan to include an index of past Q&A threads in the FAQ.

So, do you have a question about linguistics? If you're new to linguistics, post your question as a comment in this thread rather than starting a new thread. For the purposes of Q&A Mondays, you're considered new to linguistics if you haven't yet completed an introductory linguistics course or equivalent.

If you're not new to linguistics, you don't have to post your question in a Q&A thread, but you're welcome to. The moderators may ask you to move your question to the latest Q&A thread if they feel it would be more appropriate there.

Commenting Rules

The rules for commenting in this post are the same as for the rest of /r/linguistics but will be more strictly enforced. Our commenting policies.

You don't have to be a flaired user to answer questions, but we expect answers to reflect an expert level of knowledge. Please don't post answers based on speculation or anecdotes. You should be able to support your claims with a reputable source, and answers without sources are more likely to be removed.

Follow-up questions are welcome (and encouraged).

EDIT

If you notice a question on the front page you feel should have been posted to a Q&A thread, please report the post instead of commenting on it. We don't want to remove good answers!

Hello all!

As I'm sure you've noticed, we've got some fancy new CSS. Hats off to /u/keyilan, who put it together for us in quite short notice!

That said, we wanted to get some feedback on it. We're mostly concerned if anyone is having any serious issues with the way the CSS is displaying, so if you have an older browser or something, here's the place to let us know what the problems are.

rusoved

It's that time again! This is the place where you apply for flair: that little grey tag you see next to some people's usernames. If you already have flair, there is no need to apply again.

We encourage you to apply if you…

• Have expert knowledge of a particular subfield of linguistics

• Have engaged meaningfully with research in the field

• Can cite sources when asked for them

Successful applications will include

• How you want your flair to read (e.g. [Phonetics | phonology], [Syntax], [Language documentation], [Sino-Tibetan]). This should be of a reasonable length.

• Permalinks to 3-5 posts on /r/linguistics (or elsewhere on Reddit) you've made that showcase your expertise in your chosen subfield. At least one post should include reference to a peer-reviewed academic source, and all of the posts should be fairly substantial. If you're linking to a thread of comments that you've made, please link to your final comment and add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed.

• A list of any degrees you hold or are working towards. You do not need to include the name of your institution if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. This can also be submitted through modmail if you’re concerned about personal information. You don't necessarily need formal training to get flair, so if you don't have any, don't feel like you can't apply.

You can also nominate another user for a [Quality Contributor] flair by sending a modmail. These nominations should include permalinks to a few insightful posts you’ve seen them make. Quality Contributors can specify a subfield at any time, or decline their nomination if they so wish.

If you have expert knowledge of a particular field, but have not yet made posts that show it, we ask that you wait to apply.

The moderation team reserves the right to revoke your flair in extraordinary circumstances. If you wish to have your flair removed or changed, just send us a modmail.

It's that time again. After 8 months of new subscribers to the sub we're officially starting the fourth instalment of the Panel of Linguists thread.

This is the place where you apply for flair: that little grey tag you see next to some people's usernames. If you already have flair, there is no need to apply again.

We encourage you to apply if you…

• Have expert knowledge of a particular subfield of linguistics

• Have engaged meaningfully with research in the field

• Can cite sources when asked for them

Successful applications will include

• How you want your flair to read (e.g. [Phonetics/phonology], [Syntax], [Language documentation], [Sino-Tibetan]). This should be of a reasonable length.

• Permalinks to 3-5 posts on /r/linguistics (or elsewhere on Reddit) you've made that showcase your expertise in your chosen subfield. At least one post should include reference to a peer-reviewed academic source, and all of the posts should be fairly substantial. If you're linking to a thread of comments that you've made, please link to your final comment and add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed.

• A list of any degrees you hold or are working towards. You do not need to include the name of your institution if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. This can also be submitted through modmail if you’re concerned about personal information. You don't necessarily need formal training to get flair, so if you don't have any, don't feel like you can't apply.

You can also nominate another user for a [Quality Contributor] flair by sending a modmail. These nominations should include permalinks to a few insightful posts you’ve seen them make. Quality Contributors can specify a subfield at any time, or decline their nomination if they so wish.

If you have expert knowledge of a particular field, but have not yet made posts that show it, we ask that you wait to apply.

The moderation team reserves the right to revoke your flair in extraordinary circumstances. If you wish to have your flair removed or changed, just send us a modmail.

It's that time again! We're officially starting the sixth installment of the Panel of Linguists thread.

This is the place where you apply for flair: that little grey tag you see next to some people's usernames. If you already have flair, there is no need to apply again.

We encourage you to apply if you…

• Have expert knowledge of a particular subfield of linguistics

• Have engaged meaningfully with research in the field

• Can cite sources when asked for them

Successful applications will include

• How you want your flair to read (e.g. [Phonetics | phonology], [Syntax], [Language documentation], [Sino-Tibetan]). This should be of a reasonable length.

• Permalinks to 3-5 posts on /r/linguistics (or elsewhere on Reddit) you've made that showcase your expertise in your chosen subfield. At least one post should include reference to a peer-reviewed academic source, and all of the posts should be fairly substantial. If you're linking to a thread of comments that you've made, please link to your final comment and add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed.

• A list of any degrees you hold or are working towards. You do not need to include the name of your institution if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. This can also be submitted through modmail if you’re concerned about personal information. You don't necessarily need formal training to get flair, so if you don't have any, don't feel like you can't apply.

You can also nominate another user for a [Quality Contributor] flair by sending a modmail. These nominations should include permalinks to a few insightful posts you’ve seen them make. Quality Contributors can specify a subfield at any time, or decline their nomination if they so wish.

If you have expert knowledge of a particular field, but have not yet made posts that show it, we ask that you wait to apply.

The moderation team reserves the right to revoke your flair in extraordinary circumstances. If you wish to have your flair removed or changed, just send us a modmail.

It's that time again! We're officially starting the fifth installment of the Panel of Linguists thread.

This is the place where you apply for flair: that little grey tag you see next to some people's usernames. If you already have flair, there is no need to apply again.

We encourage you to apply if you…

• Have expert knowledge of a particular subfield of linguistics

• Have engaged meaningfully with research in the field

• Can cite sources when asked for them

Successful applications will include

• How you want your flair to read (e.g. [Phonetics | phonology], [Syntax], [Language documentation], [Sino-Tibetan]). This should be of a reasonable length.

• Permalinks to 3-5 posts on /r/linguistics (or elsewhere on Reddit) you've made that showcase your expertise in your chosen subfield. At least one post should include reference to a peer-reviewed academic source, and all of the posts should be fairly substantial. If you're linking to a thread of comments that you've made, please link to your final comment and add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed.

• A list of any degrees you hold or are working towards. You do not need to include the name of your institution if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. This can also be submitted through modmail if you’re concerned about personal information. You don't necessarily need formal training to get flair, so if you don't have any, don't feel like you can't apply.

You can also nominate another user for a [Quality Contributor] flair by sending a modmail. These nominations should include permalinks to a few insightful posts you’ve seen them make. Quality Contributors can specify a subfield at any time, or decline their nomination if they so wish.

If you have expert knowledge of a particular field, but have not yet made posts that show it, we ask that you wait to apply.

The moderation team reserves the right to revoke your flair in extraordinary circumstances. If you wish to have your flair removed or changed, just send us a modmail.

Dear readers,

We're officially opening up an /r/linguistics IRC channel on snoonet! Drop in and chat sometime.

It's #linguistics on irc.snoonet.org, and if you'd like to join in a webclient you can follow this link.

best,

rusoved

It's that time again. After 6 months of new subscribers to the sub we're officially starting the third instalment of the Panel of Linguists thread.

This is the place where you apply for flair: that little grey tag you see next to some people's usernames. If you already have flair, there is no need to apply again.

We encourage you to apply if you…

• Have expert knowledge of a particular subfield of linguistics

• Have engaged meaningfully with research in the field

• Can cite sources when asked for them

Successful applications will include

• How you want your flair to read (e.g. [Phonetics/phonology], [Syntax], [Language documentation], [Sino-Tibetan]). This should be of a reasonable length.

• Permalinks to 3-5 posts on /r/linguistics (or elsewhere on Reddit) you've made that showcase your expertise in your chosen subfield. At least one post should include reference to a peer-reviewed academic source, and all of the posts should be fairly substantial. If you're linking to a thread of comments that you've made, please link to your final comment and add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed.

• A list of any degrees you hold or are working towards. You do not need to include the name of your institution if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. This can also be submitted through modmail if you’re concerned about personal information. You don't necessarily need formal training to get flair, so if you don't have any, don't feel like you can't apply.

You can also nominate another user for a [Quality Contributor] flair by sending a modmail. These nominations should include permalinks to a few insightful posts you’ve seen them make. Quality Contributors can specify a subfield at any time, or decline their nomination if they so wish.

If you have expert knowledge of a particular field, but have not yet made posts that show it, we ask that you wait to apply.

The moderation team reserves the right to revoke your flair in extraordinary circumstances. If you wish to have your flair removed or changed, just send us a modmail.

There's been a fair amount of speculation and unsourced claims in comments lately. This is a friendly reminder of the commenting policy (from the sidebar and subreddit rules), particularly in regards to top-level comments.

These will be moderated more strictly than second and third tier comments.

• Keep the anecdotal evidence and layman speculation to a minimum. Keep it out of top-level comments altogether. If you're not fairly certain of the truth of what you're saying, don't say it.

• Cite your sources when possible. This is related to the first point. Any claims you make should be able to be backed up. If you can't back up a claim, you shouldn't be making it. Be ready to provide evidence if asked.

• Feel free to ask others to provide sources when appropriate.

• Please ask follow-up questions when appropriate. Just make sure that it is clearly phrased as a question.

And, as usual, please report comments or posts that are in clear violation of the rules. If you're not sure, report it anyway and it will be reviewed by the mods. Also feel free to send a message via modmail when you report something so that the mods will know what to be looking for, as well as why it was reported.

We appreciate your help.

update: Yes, anecdotal evidence is absolutely not a problem for top-level comments if it's also supported by something a little more concrete.

It's that time again! We're officially starting the seventh installment of the Panel of Linguists thread.

This is the place where you apply for flair: that little grey tag you see next to some people's usernames. If you already have flair, there is no need to apply again.

We encourage you to apply if you…

• Have expert knowledge of a particular subfield of linguistics

• Have engaged meaningfully with research in the field

• Can cite sources when asked for them

Successful applications will include

• How you want your flair to read (e.g. [Phonetics | phonology], [Syntax], [Language documentation], [Sino-Tibetan]). This should be of a reasonable length.

• Permalinks to 3-5 posts on /r/linguistics (or elsewhere on Reddit) you've made that showcase your expertise in your chosen subfield. At least one post should include reference to a peer-reviewed academic source, and all of the posts should be fairly substantial. If you're linking to a thread of comments that you've made, please link to your final comment and add "?context=x" to the URL, where "x" is the number of previous comments you want displayed.

• A list of any degrees you hold or are working towards. You do not need to include the name of your institution if you don’t feel comfortable doing so. This can also be submitted through modmail if you’re concerned about personal information. You don't necessarily need formal training to get flair, so if you don't have any, don't feel like you can't apply.

You can also nominate another user for a [Quality Contributor] flair by sending a modmail. These nominations should include permalinks to a few insightful posts you’ve seen them make. Quality Contributors can specify a subfield at any time, or decline their nomination if they so wish.

If you have expert knowledge of a particular field, but have not yet made posts that show it, we ask that you wait to apply.

The moderation team reserves the right to revoke your flair in extraordinary circumstances. If you wish to have your flair removed or changed, just send us a modmail.

Mod Post: Policy Regarding Copyrighted Works

We here at /r/linguistics do not take an official stance about the ethics of sharing copyrighted works. We do appreciate the hard work some users have put into making such works available to visitors. However, whatever our beliefs, we must balance protecting this subreddit and its posters against legal action while still making it possible for visitors to become informed scholars even if they lack institutional access to such — often very expensive — resources. With that in mind, we've decided on this provisional policy.

Allowed:

• Posting links to freely available works on services like Google Books, Project Guttenberg, author's websites, etc.
• Making requests for specific works (like /r/scholar) to be delivered via PM (personal message).
• Advertising availability of specific works to be delivered via PM.
• Noting where works can be found without posting a direct link.

Not Allowed:

• Posting links to copyrighted material (including scans) on a host unaffiliated with the publisher/author (unless the terms of the copyright allow it)

We welcome further comments and discussion below.