Introducing Language and Society

 
This accessible and entertaining textbook introduces students to both
traditional and more contemporary approaches to sociolinguistics in a
real-world context, addressing current social problems that students are
likely to care about, such as racism, inequality, political conflict,
belonging, and issues around gender and sexuality. Each chapter includes
exercises, case studies and ideas for small-scale research projects,
encouraging students to think critically about the different theories and
approaches to language and society, and to interrogate their own beliefs
about language and communication. The book gives students a grounding
in the traditional concepts and techniques upon which sociolinguistics is
built, while also introducing new developments from the last decade, such
as translanguaging, multimodality, superdiversity, linguistic landscapes,
and language and digital media. Students will also have online access to
more detailed examples, links to video and audio files, and more
challenging exercises to strengthen their skills and confidence
as sociolinguists.
R O D N E Y H . J O N E S is Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of
Reading, where he teaches sociolinguistics and language and digital media
on both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has published
widely in the areas of sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, computer￾mediated communication, and health communication. His other
textbooks include Discourse Analysis, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2018), and
Understanding Digital Literacies, 2nd edition, with Christoph Hafner
(Routledge, 2021).
C H R I S T I A N A T H E M I S T O C L E O U S is an Associate Professor in Sociolinguistics
at the University of Reading, where she teaches modules in
sociolinguistics, language and gender, and research methods. Her
research interests fall within the areas of societal multilingualism,
linguistic landscapes, and digital media. She has published widely in
major.