An Introduction to Sociolinguistics: Society and Identity

This is an introduction to sociolinguistics (the study of how people use language in social settings) in its broadest sense, beyond the narrow sense commonly used in the United States of issues in dialectology, historical linguistics, and bi- and multilingualism, although these are discussed as well, so as to also incorporate work from such fields as sociology, linguistic anthropology, conversation analysis, and the sociology of language. In particular, the authors (professors of applied linguistics at Indiana U. of Pennsylvania and California State U. San Bernardino) consider the topic of how language is used to signal and construct particular aspects of identity. Chapters are presented on identity as a central theme in linguistics; language variation; language development; language and social interaction; language, power, and micro-interactions; language, power, and macro-societal issues; and methods and approaches of sociolinguistics. Annotation 穢2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)