This comprehensive new edition of Wardhaughs textbook incorporates additional study features and numerous new and updated references to bring the book completely up-to-date, whilst maintaining the features that made the book so popular with lecturers and students: accessible coverage of a wide range of issues, clearly written, and with useful student study features.A fully revised new edition of Ronald Wardhaughs popular introduction to sociolinguistics, which now includes over 150 new and updated references and new study features throughoutFeatures new Explorations sections in each chapter incorporating suggested readings, discussion sections, and exercises all designed to encourage students to develop their own skills and ideasReflects new developments in the field, providing greater focus on ideas such as identity, solidarity, and markednessProvides balanced coverage of a range of topics, including: language dialects, pidgins and Creoles, codes, bilingualism, speech communities, variation, words and culture, ethnographies, solidarity and politeness, talk and action, gender, disadvantage, and planningComprehensive and accessible, it is the ideal introduction for students coming to sociolinguistics for the first time

Ronald Wardhaugh is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Toronto. He is the author of a number of books, includingProper English (1998) andUnderstanding English Grammar (second edition, 2003), both published by Wiley-Blackwell.

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

1. Introduction

Knowledge of Language

Variation

Language and Society

Sociolinguistics and the Sociology of Language

Methodological Concerns

Overview

Further Reading

Part I: Languages and Communities:

2. Languages, Dialects, and Varieties

Language or Dialect?

Standardization

Regional Dialects

Social Dialects

Styles, Registers, and Beliefs

Further Reading

3. Pidgins and Creoles

Lingua Francas

Definitions

Distribution and Characteristics

Origins

From Pidgin to Creole and Beyond

Further Reading

4. Codes

Diglossia

Bilingualism and Multilingualism

Code-Switching

Accommodation

Further Reading

5. Speech Communities

Definitions

Intersecting Communities

Networks and Repertoires

Further Reading

Part II: Inherent Variety:

6. Language Variation

Regional Variation

The Linguistic Variable

Social Variation

Data Collection and Analysis

Further Reading

7. Some Findings and Issues

An Early Study

New York City

Norwich and Reading

A Variety of Studies

Belfast

Controversies

Further Reading

8. Change

The Traditional View

Some Changes in Progress

The Process of Change

Further Reading

Part III: Words at Work:

9. Words and Culture

Whorf

Kinship

Taxonomies

Color

Prototypes

Taboo and Euphemism

Further Reading

10. Ethnographies

Varieties of Talk

The Ethnography of Speaking

Ethnomethodology

Further Reading

11. Solidarity and Politeness

Tu andVous

Address Terms

Politeness

Further Reading

12. Talk and Action

Speech Acts

Cooperation

Conversation

Further Reading

Part IV: Understanding and Intervening:

13. Gender

Differences

Possible Explanations

Further Reading

14. Disadvantage

Codes Again

African American English

Consequences for Education

Further Reading

15. Planning

Issues

A Variety of Situations

Further Examples

Winners and Losers

Further Reading

16. Conclusion

References

Index