Language and Society (Cambridge Approaches to Linguistics)

Review
"Downes's Language and Society is the clearest and most reliable introduction to the field of sociolinguistics available today." William Labov, University of Pennsylvania

"Of textbooks on the market, Downes's is arguably the best, providing the most thorough overview of the subject." Language

Product Description
This thoroughly revised and updated edition of Downes' textbook is an accessible introduction to the social aspects of language and their various explanations. Topics covered include domains of language use, language change, code-switching, speech as social action, and the nature of meaning and understanding. This new edition includes an up-to-date analysis of language standardization, language conflict and planning.

Language in the USA: Themes for the Twenty-first Century

This textbook furnishes a comprehensive survey of current language issues in the U.S., exploring the nature of language variation in the United States and its social, historical and political significance. The book is divided into three sections: Part I, American English; Part II, Other Language Varieties; and Part III, The Sociolinguistic Situation in the U.S.A.

Review
'the publishers have rightly decided that a completely new book is in order to illustrate recent findings and new foci of the "21st century". ... Finegan provides a useful survey, ... and recent atlases, which includes an intelligent use of maps. The chapter interestingly shows that very different methods of data collection and analysis over the years have generally confirmed the findings of the earlier studies.' Anglia

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics by Janet Holmes (Author)

What is sociolinguistics? This introductory textbook provides a penetrating answer to this question, explaining basic sociolinguistic concepts through a wide range of examples, and by drawing on 'classic' approaches to the subject as well as from the most recent research. The book is conveniently divided into three sections: * Section one shows how language is used in multilingual speech communities and explains the varying patterns of language use. Janet Holmes examines how and why languages change within society and highlights the factors that lead to the displacement of one language by another and sometimes the death of a language. * Section two explores social reasons for language change, looking at language change in monolingual communities and the features of a variety of dialects. The author shows how and why differing racial and social groups develop and maintain speech variations. * The final section assesses how attitudes to language affect speech and shows that linguistic responses depend on a variety of contextual factors - for example, the status of the person being addressed and our reasons for speaking. This new edition has been updated thoroughly throughout, and adds new sections on social constructionist approaches to language and gender, and the concept of community of practice. There is also a completely new chapter on language, cognition and culture, which introduces students to the ideas of Benjamin Lee Whorf, as well as to the wider implications of the important concept of linguistic relativity. Containing a series of student exercises and suggestions for further reading, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics is an essential introductory text for students of sociolinguistics and anyone interested in the study of language.

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics)

by Ronald Wardhaugh (Author)
"I stated in the introductory chapter that all languages exhibit internal variation, that is, each language exists in a number of varieties

Review
“As in earlier editions of this book, Wardhaugh aims here to cover the main topics for an introductory course while keeping pace with contemporary research… Wardhaugh maintains an informed, critical and thought-provoking discussion throughout the book [and] incorporates some 130 new references, accompanying discussions of quantitative methodology, English as a global language and even ‘queer linguistics’… The inclusion of more recent scholarship, combined with his own transparency, make this latest edition an engaging introduction to sociolinguistics.” Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

Praise for previous editions...

"The standard text in advanced undergraduate courses and introductory graduate courses." Language

"Among the various introductions to sociolinguistics, this one certainly stands out in its comprehensiveness... it offers a wealth of relevant and correct information." Sociolinguistica

Language in Society: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics

Why have 1500 separate languages developed in the Pacific region? Why do Danes understand Norwegians better than Norwegians understand Danish? Is Ebonics a language or a dialect?
Linguistics tends to ignore the relationship between languages and the societies in which they are spoken, while sociology generally overlooks the role of language in the constitution of society. In this book Suzanne Romaine provides a clear, lively, and accessible introduction to the field of sociolinguistics and emphasizes the constant interaction between society and language. She shows how our linguistic choices are motivated by social factors, and how certain ways of speaking come to be vested with symbolic value, drawing from evidence from studies of cultures and languages all over the world.
This new edition incorporates new material on current issues in the study of gender as well as other topics such as the linguistic dimension to the ethnic conflict in the Balkans, and the controversy over Ebonics in the United States.