An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Learning about Language)

Essential reading for English Language degree

Good book just what daughter needed

good

Good book for a berief Introduction to the field. Well layed out.

I don't recommend this book for an introductory course in the U.S.A. The United States has one of the most ethnically diverse populations and is fertile ground for exploring the many aspects of sociolinguistics usually expounded in this linguistic branch of study and that social reality should be utilized to its full advantage in teaching sociolinguistics; find a book that does that. This book will not do that for you, although with extra work and thought you could supplement with your own lessons, but who has time for that? However, beyond that issue, the biased approach that views sociolinguistics from an overtly victim/oppressor social class difference paradigm is clearly present in this text, and that is very old hat. It's time to move beyond that paradigm, including Labov's class differences, and the whole class conflict approach. It's doesn't really tell the whole story of language, society, power, and success. Sure, there's some benefit to being aware of that approach, but communication today is a new beast given Internet access and the intentional dilution of some linguistic enclaves in favor of others. If one really wants to equip students with an understanding of the first two and with the actual benefits of the latter two, I'd suggest looking for a book that approaches sociolinguistics from a new paradigm. Well...good luck finding a textbook that does that, but do try!