The sociolinguist William Labov has worked for decades on change in progress in American dialects and on African American Vernacular English (AAVE). In Dialect Diversity in America, Labov examines the diversity among American dialects and presents the counterintuitive finding that geographically localized dialects of North American English are increasingly diverging from one another over time.

Contrary to the general expectation that mass culture would diminish regional differences, the dialects of Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Birmingham, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and New...

Over her thirty-year study of the concept of territory, Jean Gottmann has seen its significance evolve in a wide variety of ways throughout the world. Factors that influence the attitude of people toward their territory involve studies of geography, politics, and economics of a region. The importance of this entity has been defined and redefined differently by all levels of society, whether in the context of political boundaries, military use, jurisdiction and ownership, or topography characteristics. At its essence, an understanding of all aspects of territory help paint a clear picture...

In his latest book, Terry Eagleton, one of the most celebrated intellects of our time, considers the least regarded of the virtues. His compelling meditation on hope begins with a firm rejection of the role of optimism in life's course. Like its close relative, pessimism, it is more a system of rationalization than a reliable lens on reality, reflecting the cast of one's temperament in place of true discernment. Eagleton turns then to hope, probing the meaning of this familiar but elusive word: Is it an emotion? How does it differ from desire? Does it fetishize the future? Finally,...