The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader by Meyerhoff, Miriam; Schleef, Erik;

Short description:

Key readings in past and present sociolinguistics, accompanied by helpful comprehension questions and challenging conceptual questions plus a companion website with further exercises and study questions.

Long description:

Both a companion to Introducing Sociolinguistics, Miriam Meyerhoff’s bestselling textbook, and a stand-alone Reader in sociolinguistics, this collection includes classic foundational readings and more recent innovative articles.

Intended to be highly user-friendly, The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader includes substantial section introductions, further reading, a reader’s guide on how to use the book and an introductory chapter providing advice on how to undertake qualitative and quantitative research. This introduction is supplemented by exercises focussing on data handling and collection.

The Reader is divided into six sections and each section is thematically organised. Each reading is accessible to beginning students of sociolinguistics but the entire selection is assembled to also help advanced students focus on themes, principles and concepts that cut across different researchers' work. Beginning and advanced students are supported by Content Questions to assist understanding of essential features in the readings, and Concept Questions which help advanced students make connections across readings, apply theory to data, and critically engage with the readings. A companion website supports and connects the Reader and textbook with structured exercises, links to associated websites and video examples, plus an online glossary.

The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader is essential reading for students on courses in sociolinguistics, language and society, and language and variation.

Authors: Allan Bell, Jennifer Hay, Stefanie Jannedy, Norma Mendoza-Denton, Qing Zhang, John Laver, Sachiko Ide, Dennis R. Preston, Thomas Purnell, William Idsardi, John Baugh, Gibson Ferguson, Isabelle Buchstaller, Jinny K. Choi, Don Kulick, Christopher Stroud, Jan-Peter Blom, John J. Gumperz, David Britain, Monica Heller, Ben Rampton, Miriam Meyerhoff, Nancy Niedzielski, William Labov, Rika Ito, Sali Tagliamonte, Gillian Sankoff, Hélène Blondeau, Peter Trudgill, Richard Cameron, Lesley Milroy, James Milroy, Paul Kerswill, Ann Williams, Terttu Nevalainen, Penelope Eckert, Janet Holmes, Stephanie Schnurr, Niloofar Haeri, Elinor Ochs, Scott Fabius Kiesling, Rusty Barrett

Go to www.routledge.com/textbooks/meyerhoff for online resources supporting The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader and Introducing Sociolinguistics (Meyerhoff 2011)

"An outstanding resource for students and scholars of sociolinguistics at all levels. The introductory chapter on methods provides a great entrance into the field and the reader covers a generally excellent range of core readings in sociolinguistics. In addition the editors have integrated those readings with helpful exercises and discussion questions that will benefit students and instructors alike."

Robin Queen, University of Michigan, USA

"The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader stands out with its focus on practice. Students will love the hands-on nature of this Reader!"

Ingrid Piller, Macquarie University, Australia

"A very useful collection, due to the care in selection both in terms of quality and the wide range of approaches. I especially like the focus on multilingualism (more than a third of the articles report on languages other than English, for anyone keeping score), both in the choice of topics and in the attention given to the interests and needs of multilingual students."

Naomi Nagy, University of Toronto, Canada

"This is the kind of interactive, varied course material that both students and teachers dream about."

- Dr. Catharina Peersman, Department of Linguistics, K.U. Leuven, Belgium

'... offers a true introductory manual of sociolinguistic studies to students and teachers alike... this is the kind of interactive, varied course material that both students and teachers dream about. There is no doubt about the excellent qualities of 'The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader'. When combined with Meyerhoff's 'Introducing Sociolinguistics' and the online resources, this versatile manual is a very practical resource that would help create a varied and enjoyable sociolinguistics course.' - LinguistList

Table of Contents:

List of figures  List of tables  User's Guide to The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader  Acknowledgements  Introduction 1. Sociolinguistic Methods For Data Collection and Interpretation  Part One: Identities, Style and Politeness Editors' Introduction to Part One  2. Back In Style: Reworking Audience Design. Allan Bell  3. Oprah and /Ay/: Lexical Frequency, Referee Design and Style. Jennifer Hay, Stefanie Jannedy and Norma Mendoza-Denton 4. A Chinese Yuppie in Beijing: Phonological Variation and The Construction of A New Professional Identity. Qing Zhang  5. Linguistic Routines and Politeness in Greeting and Parting.  John Laver  6. Formal Forms and Discernment: Two Neglected Aspects of Universals of Linguistic Politeness. Sachiko Ide  Part Two: Perceptions and Language Attitudes Editors' Introduction to Part Two  7. Language With An Attitude. Dennis R. Preston  8. The Li'l Abner Syndrome: Written Representation of Speech. Dennis R. Preston 9. Perceptual and Phonetic Experiments on American English Dialect Identification. Thomas Purnell, William Idsardi, and John Baugh  10. Language Education Policy and the Medium of Instruction Issue in Post-Colonial Africa. Gibson Ferguson  11. Social Stereotypes, Personality Traits and Regional Perceptions Displaced: Attitudes Towards The 'New' Quotatives In The U.K. Isabelle Buchstaller  Part Three: Multilingualism and Language Contact Editors' Introduction to Part Three  12. Bilingualism in Paraguay: Forty Years After Rubin's Study. Jinny K. Choi  13. Code Switching In Gapun: Social and Linguistic Aspects of Language Use In A Language Shifting Community. Don Kulick and Christopher Stroud   14. Social Meaning in Linguistic Structure: Code-Switching In Norway. Jan Peter Blom and John J. Gumperz  15. Dialect Contact, Focusing and Phonological Rule Complexity: The Koineisation of Fenland English. David Britain  16. Legitimate Language in a Multilingual School. Monica Heller  17. Language Crossing and The Redefinition of Reality. Ben Rampton  16. The Globalisation of Vernacular Variation. Miriam Meyerhoff and Nancy Niedzielski  Part Four: Variation and Change Editors' Introduction to Part Four  19. The Social Motivation Of A Sound Change. William Labov  20. Well Weird, Right Dodgy, Very Strange, Really Cool: Layering and Recycling in English Intensifiers. Rika Ito and Sali Tagliamonte  21. Language Change Across The Lifespan. Gillian Sankoff and Helene Blondeau  22. Norwich Revisited: Recent Linguistic Changes In An English Urban District. Peter Trudgill  23. Aging and Gendering. Richard Cameron  Part Five: Social Class, Networks and Communities of Practice Editors' Introduction To Part Five  24. Social Network and Social Class: Toward An Integrated Sociolinguistic Model. Lesley Milroy and James Milroy  25. Mobility Versus Social Class In Dialect Levelling: Evidence From New and Old Towns in England. Paul Kerswill and Ann Williams  26. Making The Best Of 'Bad' Data: Evidence for Sociolinguistic Variation in Early Modern English. Terttu Nevalainen  27. Vowels and Nail Polish: The Emergence of Linguistic Style In The Preadolescent Heterosexual Marketplace. Penelope Eckert  28. 'Doing Femininity' At Work: More Than Just Relational Practice. Janet Holmes and Stephanie Schnurr  Part Six: Gender Editors' Introduction To Part Six  29. A Linguistic Innovation of Women in Cairo. Niloofar Haeri  30. Indexing Gender. Elinor Ochs  31. Power and the Language of Men. Scott Fabius Kiesling  32. Markedness and Styleswitching in Performances By African American Drag Queens. Rusty Barrett  Notes on Concept Questions  Index