Guidebook to Sociolinguistics

Allan Bell is Professor of Language and Communication, and Director of the Institute of Culture, Discourse and Communication at Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. He is the Editor of the Journal of Sociolinguistics (Wiley Blackwell), and author or editor of several books on language and media and on New Zealand languages.

“an accessible introduction … a beginner-friendly structure … an enticing introduction for undergraduate students … the author draws an inspiring picture of his research field that appeals to both the heart and the head … the exercises adapt well to most levels of linguistic knowledge - the voice of the guide is clear and articulate - this is an effortless and lively tour that cannot but inspire beginners and experienced scholars alike”. - English World Wide, 2016“A major strength of this book is indeed the focus on research. Bell not only provides different types of data from the field, but also detailed explanations on how data has been collected and interpreted. . . a fine candidate for an undergraduate sociolinguistics course. It introduces the key topics, provides lots of excellent and modern examples and is written in an accessible style suitable for introducing material to students not yet familiar with linguistic theory or social science research methodology.”  - Linguistlist, 14 July 2014“In seeking answers to these and myriad other questions through reading and engaging with Bell’s book, students and researchers alike will find substantive knowledge, lofty wisdom, and inspiration to carry forward the tradition of study of the world’s rich social and linguistic diversity in which Bell has long played a key part.”  - Journal of Sociolinguistics, 3 June 2014

• List of Figures xiList of Tables xiiiPreface xv1 What Are Sociolinguistics? 11.1 What is language? 21.2 What is a language? 41.3 What then are sociolinguistics? 61.4 Neighbouring and overlapping fields 121.5 A guide to the guidebook 142 A Profusion of Languages 192.1 Being multilingual 192.2 Six dimensions of bilingualism 252.3 Approaches to multilingualism 292.4 Language surveys and censuses 332.5 The case of Canada 342.6 Research activity: A bilingual survey 392.7 Summary 412.8 Further reading 423 Language Shift and Maintenance 473.1 Introducing language contact 473.2 Language functions 503.3 Shifting languages 543.4 Maintaining and revitalizing languages 573.5 The case for Māori 623.6 Research activity: doing a project (1) – the setup 673.7 Summary 703.8 Further reading 714 Language Birth and Death 754.1 Pidgins and creoles 764.2 Where do pidgins and creoles come from? 794.3 The creole continuum 834.4 Language danger and death 844.5 The microlinguistics of dying languages 894.6 The cases of Gaelic and Melanesian 914.7 Research activity: the making of Melanesian Pidgin 954.8 Summary 974.9 Further reading 985 Codes and Choices 1035.1 Varieties, codes and repertoires 1035.2 The speech community 1055.3 Diglossia 1085.4 Code switching 1135.5 The sociolinguistics of code switching 1145.6 The case of Oberwart 1195.7 Research activity: observation versus self-report 1235.8 Summary 1255.9 Further reading 1266 Situated Language 1316.1 Situations, contexts and domains 1316.2 Ethnographies of communication 1346.3 Speakers in situ 1386.4 Audiences for language 1406.5 Speech acts and politeness 1426.6 The sociolinguistics of interaction 1466.7 Gender and conversation 1496.8 The case of slang in Rio 1516.9 Research activity: ethnographing the class 1556.10 Summary 1566.11 Further reading 1577 Variation in Language 1637.1 Foundations: New York City 1637.2 Class in language 1687.3 Ethnicity in language 1727.4 Ethnic varieties of English 1767.5 Gender in language 1797.6 The case of ING 1817.7 Research activity: doing a project (2) – data collection 1867.8 Summary 1897.9 Further reading 1908 Language in Time 1958.1 Age in language 1958.2 Real time and apparent time 2008.3 The linguistics of language change 2048.4 Sound change 2078.5 The social life of language change 2098.6 Markets, networks and communities 2148.7 The case of Belten High 2188.8 Research activity: language change on the internet 2218.9 Summary 2238.10 Further reading 2249 Language in Space 2299.1 Dialectology 2299.2 Making space 2349.3 Dialect contact 2389.4 Dialect birth 2439.5 Dialect death 2469.6 The case of colonial Englishes 2479.7 Research activity: linguistic landscape 2499.8 Summary 2509.9 Further reading 25110 Valuing Language 25510.1 Ideologies of language 25610.2 Language with attitude 25910.3 Evaluating individual linguistic variables 26410.4 The Indexical Cycle 26810.5 Discriminating language 27210.6 The case of Bakhtin 27810.7 Research activity: doing a project (3) – results and reporting 28210.8 Summary 28610.9 Further reading 28711 Styling Language and Identities 29311.1 Two takes on style 29311.2 Audience design 29711.3 Referee design 30311.4 Performing sociolinguistic identities 30611.5 The case of Marlene Dietrich 31011.6 Research activity: a performance language project 31411.7 Summary 31811.8 Further reading 31912 Theory and Engagement 32312.1 The place of the social in sociolinguistics 32312.2 Structure and agency 32612.3 Towards a socially constituted sociolinguistics 329References 333Index 357