SOCIOLINGUISTICS
Language in Social Life
This book introduces sociolinguistics through questions that undergraduate students can recognize. Why do accents become associated with places? Why do speakers shift style? How do bilinguals decide which language to use? What happens when two languages meet? Why do institutions give greater value to some varieties than others? How does language participate in identity, politeness, inequality, media, and social change?
The chapters move from basic concepts toward more complex questions of multilingualism, contact, identity, language ideology, policy, digital communication, and sociolinguistic research. The goal is not to memorize a list of terms. It is to learn how to observe language as social evidence.
Throughout the book, examples are drawn from different parts of the world. South Asian settings appear alongside African, European, North American, and other multilingual contexts. No single country is treated as the model for sociolinguistic life. Instead, students are encouraged to compare settings and ask what each case reveals about the relationship between language and society.
$ 5.00 USD