Why I Work in the Field of Language Variation and Change

This perspective introduces the reader to what it is that a linguist working within the field of language variation and change does. I first outline what the goals of the field are. Next, I provide examples from my own work that illustrate what a researcher in my field may investigate and how. I also discuss what a teacher in my field can get to teach and why interacting with the students is, in my view at least, essential. We finish with a brief comment on whether and how the world can benefit from the insights of the field