Abstract:The article discusses the importance of sociohistorical context which is the foundation of variation studies in sociolinguistics. The studies on variation in spoken and signed languages are reviewed with the discussion of geographical and social aspects which are treated as external factors in the formation and maintenance of dialects and those factors often have historical roots. The Black ASL project is reviewed as a case with racial segregation and educational policies as part of the sociohistorical factors in the emergence of Black ASL.

中文翻译：

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社会历史背景在社会语言学中的重要性：黑人 ASL 的案例

摘要：本文讨论了社会历史背景的重要性，这是社会语言学变异研究的基础。回顾口语和手语变异的研究，讨论了地理和社会方面，这些方面被视为方言形成和维持的外部因素，而这些因素往往具有历史根源。黑人 ASL 项目被视为一个案例，种族隔离和教育政策是黑人 ASL 出现的社会历史因素的一部分。