VARIATIONIST SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND INTERACTIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTICS: PRINCIPLES, CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES

Abstract

This article aims to highlight the theoretical differences and similarities between variationist and interactional sociolinguistics. Both approaches see language as a variable and mutable structure according to its social use, which leads to the conclusion that their theoretical frameworks start from the same basic idea. Thus, variationist and interactional sociolinguistics can be complementary tools for the investigation of linguistic phenomena. The combination of theoretical and methodological principles from these two perspectives can bring broader and more consistent results to scientific research.