ABSTRACT
Anthropological research on language use tends to frame longitudinal research within the context of methodological approaches such as ethnography, participant observation and fieldwork. This chapter describes in detail the ethnographic experiences and fieldsite in Chemin de l'Ile, a neighborhood largely composed of cites and located outside of Paris, France. It deals with lifespan change among research informants in relation to local speech genres and styles. The chapter argues that longitudinal research can maximize the potential for understanding how speakers are socialized and re-socialized into changing speech styles and communication norms across the life course. It addresses a related pattern in which consultants maintain their communicative beliefs in the face of generalized community change. The chapter considers the issue in terms of how the participants' production of and attitudes toward gendered speech styles changed over time in ways that ran counter to the direction of language change in their community.
