Applied Linguistics as Social Science surveys the increasing dialogue between linguistics and social theory. The book shows how social theory, applied linguistics and sociolinguistics share a set of common concerns, and how an analysis of these to produce a social scientific account of applied linguistics helps to explain the interaction between social structures, human agents and language. Foreword • Introduction • Making connections: some key issues in social theory and applied linguistics • Sociology and ideas about language • Language as a cultural emergent property • Researching language learning: theories, evidence, claims • Social categories and theoretical descriptions • Social domain theory: interpreting intercultural communication • Language in the world: properties and powers • A social realist approach to research in applied linguistics

Applied Linguistics as Social Science surveys the increasing dialogue between linguistics and social theory. The book shows how social theory, applied linguistics and sociolinguistics share a set of common concerns, and how an analysis of these to produce a social scientific account of applied linguistics helps to explain the interaction between social structures, human agents and language. Foreword • Introduction • Making connections: some key issues in social theory and applied linguistics • Sociology and ideas about language • Language as a cultural emergent property • Researching language learning: theories, evidence, claims • Social categories and theoretical descriptions • Social domain theory: interpreting intercultural communication • Language in the world: properties and powers • A social realist approach to research in applied linguistics