Sociolinguistics is a diverse discipline which addresses important questions on how language reflects, structures and dominates social life. This textbook provides a definitive overview of this field, including much original work.

Introduction.- PART 1: SOCIOLINGUISTICS: ORIGINS, DEFINITIONS AND APPROACHES.- The Scope of Sociolinguistics; D.Hymes.- Linguistics and Sociolinguistics; W.Labov.- The Sociology of Language; J.Fishman.- Language in a Social Perspective; M.Halliday.- Communicative Competence; J.J.Gumperz.- Social Semiotics, Style and Ideology; R.Hodge & G.Kress.- Demythologizing Sociolinguistics; D.Cameron.- PART 2: METHODS FOR STUDYING LANGUAGE IN SOCIETY.- Field Linguistics; L.Milroy.- Field Methods in the Study of Social Dialects; W.Wolfram & R.W.Fasold.- Speech Events and Natural Speech; N.Wolfson.- The Ethnographic Analysis of Communicative Events; M.Saville-Troike.- Ethics, Advocacy and Empowerment in Researching Language; D.Cameron, E.Frazer, P.Harvey, B.Rampton & K.Richardson.- PART 3: VARIATIONIST SOCIOLINGUISTICS.- The Social Stratification of (r) in New York City Department Stores; W.Labov.- The Social Differentiation of English in Norwich; P.Trudgill.- Linguistic Variation and Social Function; J.Cheshire.- Network Structure and Linguistic Change; J.Milroy.- The Whole Woman: Sex and Gender Differences in Variation; P.Eckert.- PART 4: STYLISTIC VARIATIONAccommodation Theory; H.Giles & P.Powesland.- Language Style as Audience Design; A.Bell.- Acts of Conflicting Identity: The Sociolinguistics of British Pop-song Pronunciation; P.Trudgill.- PART 5: LANGUAGE, ATTITUDES AND SOCIAL STEREOTYPES.- Social Groups and Social Stereotypes; M.Hewstone & H.Giles.- Social Class and the Identification of Sex in Children's Speech; J.R.Edwards.- Language Attitudes in a Danish Movie-theatre; T.Kristiansen.- Language Policies and Language Attitudes: le Monde de la Francophonie; R.Y.Bourhis.- PART 6: MULTILINGUALISM.- Language, Ethnicity and Racism; J.A.Fishman.- Language Standardisation; E.Haugen Pidgin English Advertising; S.Romaine.- Language Selection and Switching in Three Strasbourg Department Stores; P.Gardner-Chloros.- Language Change and Sex Roles in a Bilingual Community; S.Gal.- PART 7: INTERACTIONAL SOCIOLINGUISTICS.- Interethnic Communication; J.J.Gumperz.- Patois and the Politics of Protest: Black English in British Classrooms; V.Edwards.- Interaction: The Work Women Do; P.M.Fishman.- Cultural Dimensions of Language Acquisition; E.Ochs.- PART 8: LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.- The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behaviour to Language; B.L.Whorf.- The Biculture in the Bilingual; M.Agar.- Rules for Ritual Insults; W.Labov.- The Sociology of Compliment Work in Polish and English; R.K.Herbert.