Variation in space and society

Abstract

Sociolinguistics and dialectology share the same interest in the spoken language and the same method: the use of surveys. They both collect their primary data and organise them into corpora, but they differ in the way their results are presented. Based on the Sociolinguistic Survey in Orléans (ESLO), this chapter explores two hitherto neglected factors that may impinge on survey and transcription methodologies: the characteristics of the interviewers and their relationship with the interviewees according to the type of situation; and the profiles of the transcribers and their relationship to the standard French. We conclude that both features constitute parameters of variation, to which the ESLO corpus provides access.