The paper starts with a presentation of circumstances under which dialectology developed in the 2nd half of the 19th century. The growth of sociolinguistics dates back to the turn of the 50's and 60’s of the 20th century. The dialectological research methods have been of little usf for sociolinguists. On the other hand the methods developed in sociolinguistics may be applied in dialectology. In the first place much more attention should be given to the hierarchical (social) differentiation of peasant cosnunities. A desciption should include not only age but also such factors as sex, jobs in town, or social status. Secondly, a research of the situationally conditioned variability should be introduced, aiming at the determination of the degree to Which the official (as opposed to unofficial) situation contributes to the repression of dialectal forms by their literary equivalents in the process of speech.The concluding, part of the article is devoted to a description of the methods of Such research.

Zadanie pt. „Digitalizacja i udostępnienie w Cyfrowym Repozytorium Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego kolekcji czasopism naukowych wydawanych przez Uniwersytet Łódzki” nr 885/P-DUN/2014 zostało dofinansowane ze środków MNiSW w ramach działalności upowszechniającej naukę