Social Networks and Sociolinguistics

A systematic literature review to the relevance of knowledge about variation

Abstract

This article aims to report how the structure of social networks contributes to the maintenance of regional and vernacular dialects in contact with the dominant norm, highlighting the factors that foster the preservation of linguistic variation in social interaction contexts to increase the relevance of knowledge about variation. This is a systematic literature review in the field of sociolinguistics, utilizing research published in the last five years, from 2019 to 2024, available in the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD), addressing the gap concerning the state of the art in studies that employed social network analysis methodology. The theoretical framework is grounded in Bortoni-Ricardo (2005, 2011), Hymes (1971), Labov (1972), and Milroy (1980), whose contributions underpin the analysis of the relationship between social interaction and linguistic practices. A qualitative, quantitative, and interpretative methodological approach was adopted for analyzing the reviewed studies. The results indicate that, over the past five years, the analyzed research reinforces the idea that dense and multiplex social networks play a crucial role in maintaining regional and vernacular dialects, demonstrating their resilience against the pressures of the urban prestige norm, even though the amount of research is restricted. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the interaction between social structure and linguistic variation, providing insights for future investigations and educational policies that value linguistic diversity.