Diffusion

Abstract

The chapter discusses the nature of the process of diffusion as a feedback-loop process and explains its contribution to the conventionalization of innovations, to linguistic variation, change, and persistence. The chapter is divided into sections portraying spatial diffusion, social diffusion, and stylistic diffusion as highly dynamic, potentially reversible, and therefore largely unpredictable. Aspects discussed include various models of spatial diffusion (e.g. the gravity model and the cascade model), the S-curve model of the social diffusion of innovations, as well as processes such as standardization, colloquialization, and vernacularization. It is highlighted that all three dimensions of diffusion must always be kept in sight. This is illustrated by discussing the variable -ing vs -in as a standard example of what Labov (2001) calls a ‘stable sociolinguistic variable’.