Don't worry, though, most of the essays are around 10 pages in length so it's not impossible to get through the material. Most probably, you won't be looking at this review unless you are a student of linguistics and using the book in a classroom format. The bottom line is that this book is not a textbook nor is it an easy read. There are 37 chapters from a variety of scholars. The book is divided into 8 parts: Sociolinguistics, Origins, Definitions and Approaches Methods for Studying Language in Society Variationist Linguistics Stylistic Variation Language, Attitudes and Social Stereotypes Multilingualism Interactional Sociolinguistics and Language and Culture. It is difficult from the point of view of a student to rate the quality of the essays, other than whether I understand them or not - hence my middle-of-the-road rating of three stars. This sometimes makes it more difficult to follow the essay that I'm reading because I'm not familiar with the background material being referenced. I gave it an average of three stars because 1) I find the material tough going 2) some of the material is dated and 3) the essays often make references to other scholars or papers that I'm unfamiliar with. This book is a collection of essays about various topics in linguistics, and like most readers, some of the essays are short, some long, some easy reads, and others quite dense. While I admit to being a word nerd (and I work as an editor), the topic of linguistics isn't for the faint of heart. I guess the university was worried that name would scare students off. It will be an ideal resource for lecturers teaching modules on topics such as language variation, language and gender, language attitudes and multilingualism.I'm using this in an undergraduate communications class, "language and society." Or sociolinguistics, as it's better known. This is an essential companion for all undergraduates and postgraduates involved in the study of sociolinguistics. Chapters are richly illustrated with examples and informed by the latest scholarly debates. Comprising six distinctive parts and almost fifty individual chapters, it introduces students to a wealth of issues in sociolinguistics, including refashioning linguistic identities, code-switching, language rights and the social functions of small talk. Fully updated and expanded for the second edition, this core textbook provides rigorous coverage of the key themes and debates at the cutting edge of sociolinguistics research and brings together many of the most influential scholars in the field.
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