Meyerhoff was born in 1964,[2] the daughter of poet Mary Cresswell and philosopher Hans Meyerhoff [de]. Her father died in a car accident the following year,[3] and her mother married logician Max Cresswell in 1970.[4] The family subsequently moved to New Zealand.[5]
Meyerhoff's research examines the sociolinguistic constraints on variation, principally in communities characterised by language or dialect contact.[11] Much of her work since her dissertation has been on Creoles, as their (typical) lack of standardisation leads to variation and change at all levels of linguistic structure.
She is the author of a well-regarded introductory textbook on sociolinguistics (Meyerhoff 2018).
Meyerhoff has spoken to media on linguistic issues, including: whether New Zealand speech is affected by migration patterns and diversity;[12][13] the use of the word eh in New Zealand English;[14] and the impact of digital technology on communication.[15]
Holmes, Janet; Meyerhoff, Miriam (2003). The Handbook of Language and Gender. Malden, MA: Blackwell. According to WorldCat, the book is held in 811 libraries.[19]
Meyerhoff, Miriam (2006). Introducing Sociolinguistics. London: Routledge. According to WorldCat, the book is held in 511 libraries in 40 editions.[20]
Meyerhoff, Miriam; Nagy, Naomi (2008). Social Lives in Language—Sociolinguistics and Multilingual Speech Communities Celebrating the Work of Gillian Sankoff. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Meyerhoff, Miriam; Schleef, Erik (2010). The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader. London: Routledge.
Ehrlich, Susan; Meyerhoff, Miriam; Holmes, Janet (2014). The Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality. Wiley Blackwell.
