New Ways of Analyzing Variation
New Ways of Analyzing Variation is an annual North American academic conference in sociolinguistics. NWAV attracts researchers and students conducting linguistic scientific investigations into patterns of language variation, the study of language change in progress, and the interrelationship between language and society, including how language variation is shaped by and continually shapes societal institutions, social and interpersonal relationships, and individual and group identities.
The conference originated under the title New Ways of Analyzing Variation in English in October 1972 at Georgetown University; "English" was dropped from the conference title later as languages other than English entered the conference's focus., NWAV 53, was held in 2025 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, hosted by the University of Michigan. The 2026 meeting will be hosted by the Université de Montréal. The 2027 meeting will be hosted by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.