Exploring Sociolinguistics

"Exploring Sociolinguistics: Language in Society" is a comprehensive handbook designed for students with a background in linguistics and sociolinguistics, offering an advanced and up-to-date exploration of the field. The contributors, renowned for their contributions to sociolinguistics, provide authoritative and detailed overviews of key areas in an accessible manner. This book is not an introductory textbook but a resource for readers to delve into specific chapters based on their interests and needs. It is also valuable for academics and researchers outside sociolinguistics who wish to stay informed about new developments in this increasingly important field within the humanities. We provide the most comprehensive overview available, surveying a wide range of topics and approaches to studying language variation and usage in society. Beyond linguistic perspectives, the handbook includes insights from anthropology, social psychology, discourse and power research, conversation analysis, style and styling theories, language contact, and applied sociolinguistics. As language practices have evolved significantly since the late 20th century, this guide demonstrates how sociolinguistics, along with other branches of linguistics and social sciences, offers the best tools for understanding our evolving social nature. Each chapter presents a state-of-the-art overview of major sub-disciplines within language study and research, organized into broad thematic areas. Together, these chapters provide a cohesive picture of the latest theories and findings, forming an integrated overview of the discipline.