The Handbook of Dialectology provides an authoritative, up-to-date and unusually broad account of the study of dialect, in one volume. Each chapter reviews essential research, and offers a critical discussion of the past, present and future development of the area. The volume is based on state-of-the-art research in dialectology around the world, providing the most current work available with an unusually broad scope of topics - Provides a practical guide to the many methodological and statistical issues surrounding the collection and analysis of dialect data - Offers summaries of dialect variation in the world's most widely spoken and commonly studied languages, including several non-European languages that have traditionally received less attention in general discussions of dialectology - Reviews the intellectual development of the field, including its main theoretical schools of thought and research traditions, both academic and applied - The editors are well known and highly respected, with a deep knowledge of this vast field of inquiry "Dialectology, the study of how and why language varies from place to place, comes brilliantly to life with this comprehensive, state of the art handbook. Grounded in history yet filled with cutting-edge methodology, research findings and personal insights from top researchers in the field, this book gives scholars and students the ideal reference manual for studying and understanding dialects in the 21st century." Professor Sali Tagliamonte, University of Toronto, Canada "It's all here – an enormously helpful and brilliantly well-planned volume, by the world's very top dialectology researchers. The Handbook has everything that needs to be known about regional variation in language, including the history of its study, its manifestations, its causes, and its consequences." Professor Peter Trudgill, University of East Anglia, UK Over the last 150 years the field of dialectology has seen a great broadening and diversification of subject matter, including the range of languages and dialects studied, methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives used, and its links with allied disciplines. The Handbook of Dialectology meets this challenge by providing an authoritative, up-to-date account of the study of dialect from around the world. Organized into three sections—theory, methods, and data—the editors, along with an international team of leading scholars, explore the broad field of dialectology and a wide range of related subtopics. The Handbook considers dialect variation in the world's most widely spoken and commonly studied languages, including a variety of language families that have traditionally received less attention in general discussions of dialectology. Chapters address the most important issues, review the essential research, and offer a critical discussion of the past, present, and future developments of the subfield. In addition, the book begins with an introductory essay on the nature of dialect variation, and the history and current status of the discipline of dialectology. "Dialectology, the study of how and why language varies from place to place, comes brilliantly to life with this comprehensive, state of the art handbook. Grounded in history yet filled with cutting-edge methodology, research findings and personal insights from top researchers in the field, this book gives scholars and students the ideal reference manual for studying and understanding dialects in the 21st century." Professor Sali Tagliamonte, University of Toronto, Canada "It's all here an enormously helpful and brilliantly well-planned volume, by the world's very top dialectology researchers. The Handbook has everything that needs to be known about regional variation in language, including the history of its study, its manifestations, its causes, and its consequences." Professor Peter Trudgill, University of East Anglia, UK Over the last 150 years the field of dialectology has seen a great broadening and diversification of subject matter, including the range of languages and dialects studied, methodological approaches and theoretical perspectives used, and its links with allied disciplines. The Handbook of Dialectology meets this challenge by providing an authoritative, up-to-date account of the study of dialect from around the world. Organized into three sections theory, methods, and data the editors, along with an international team of leading scholars, explore the broad field of dialectology and a wide range of related subtopics. The Handbook considers dialect variation in the world's most widely spoken and commonly studied languages, including a variety of language families that have traditionally received less attention in general discussions of dialectology. Chapters address the most important issues, review the essential research, and offer a critical discussion of the past, present, and future developments of the subfield. In addition,