Introducing Sociolinguistics

by Miriam Meyerhoff

' Here is a welcome introduction to sociolinguistics by a leading researcher in the field. Users will be inspired by the breadth and sweep of Meyerhoff's treatment. ' – William Labov, University of Pennsylvania, USA ' Miriam Meyerhoff’s entertaining volume revels in the diversity that is the cornerstone of sociolinguistics – she takes us to every continent to provide contemporary, refreshing and engaging examples of the key concepts of the discipline, and does so in a well-paced and readable style. The book is authoritative yet open-minded, innovative yet touches all the bases that need to be touched. Most of all, it embodies a passion for sociolinguistics that I hope many readers will embrace. ' – David Britain , University of Essex, UK This key text provides a solid, up-to-date appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of the field. It covers foundation issues, recent advances and current debates – presenting familiar or classic data in new ways, and supplementing the familiar with fresh examples from a wide range of languages and social settings. It clearly explains the patterns and systems that underlie language variation in use, as well as the ways in which alternations between different language varieties index personal style, social power and national identity. Individual chapters Each chapter includes exercises that enable readers to engage critically with the text, break out boxes making connections between sociolinguistics and linguistic or social theory, and brief, lively add-ons guaranteed to make the book a memorable and enjoyable read. With a full glossary of terms and suggestions for further reading, this text gives students all the tools they need for an excellent command of sociolinguistics.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction, Academic, Sociology, Language, Textbooks, Reference

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

The scope of this book is huge, I learned a lot even though I've been interested in sociolonguistics for years now. It is written in a very accessible manner for laypeople, though many of the concepts introduced are complex. The various exercises are relevant. It is useful to try and apply the stuff on our own.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the best textbooks I've ever read. Miriam Meyerhoff is able do describe and explane Sociolinguistics in a fascinating and understandable. I would recommend this introduction to everyone.

[Bere Tarará · Rating 5 out of 5]

Libro de cajón para adentrarnos al mundo de la sociolingüística. Con un lenguaje ameno nos presenta las investigaciones clásicas y actuales del campo de estudio. La edición del libro es dinámica y hace que temas complejos parezcan sencillos

[Cillu Magellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A narrative exploration of the topic. It's got a lot of fluff. It's hard to pay attention when information is given one bite at a time between long intervals. If you want a straight to the point explanation of concepts, this is not the book for you. But if you like many examples and case studies, this has got it.

[Verena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over all, it was interesting, but at some points throughout the chapters it felt as if there was a lot of "dragging on" and talking around what was actually important. It took way longer to read than I would have expected.

[CAITLIN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but lacking in micro-details of linguistics. It doesn’t go into the IPA of some studies, for example, or the conventions used in CA transcripts. Truly an “introduction;” probably better described as an overview of the field.

[Madelief Albers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introducing Sociolinguistics was one of the set books for a course I took on English Sociolinguistics. Personally, my main interest is in literature, and to be honest the only reason I follow any linguistics classes is because it is a compulsory part of my BA programme. That being said, I have to admit that this book was a LOT better than I expected. Meyerhoff has found a way to make a pretty difficult and somewhat dry subject a lot better to understand. Furthermore, Meyerhoff is fully aware of the fact that some students might only be taking courses on sociolinguistics because they have to, or that some students struggle with understanding sociolinguistics, and she plays into this wonderfully. Her casual but clear way of explaining things, including numerous extensive examples, and her lists of important concepts are incredibly helpful, and the little rubrics with interesting or funny facts make for a lighter read.

[/d. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meyerhoff has produced a solid textbook that covers most of the basics of social linguistics for the beginner. I'm sure a lot of people appreciate her conversational style that makes the book relatively "easy" to read, but I found it unnecessary and dragging. It's nice when authors know how to chuck in the occasional anecdote or two but Meyerhoff just does it a bit too much for me. Most chapters could be cut by 50%. Doesn't make it a bad book, but I wish the content had been presented in a more condensed way. Overall, this is a solid, well-structured book that covers all the relevant definitions and example studies.

[Tessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid survey of the big research topics in sociolinguistics. I'm coming at it as someone more familiar with linguistics, so personally I was introduced to more social theory than sociolinguistic (e.g. social class v social networks v communities of practice; gender as a probabilistic distribution of features; variation as acts of identity). I don't think it's necessarily an "introductory" text because I don't think sociolinguistics needs one. If you don't want breadth, it's probably more useful to just learn the basics of linguistics and jump into the socioling topic that interests you.

[Matias Alanko · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fairly good introduction to the subject. However, gets caught up a bit at times, particularly when explaining the research done in the field, making the book a tough read. The exercises are speculative or related to reader's personal experiences rather than revising or requiring application of the knowledge just gained.

[Demian Haldar · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives a great overview of what’s happening in the sociolinguistics field, but I found it a pain to read and I just could not get over that. The author drags on a lot, some chapters seem devoid of a logical order, and her style of writing makes it more difficult than it should be to grasp the concepts.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great overview of the field, with a thread tracing sociolinguistics through from its early days growing out of dialectology to variationist sociolinguistics and with a look toward future work.

[Emilie ;) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting and accessible introduction to the field of sociolinguistics... Some chapters could have been more developed...

[Thatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good introduction and manual on sociolinguistics. Lots of data examples and terms/concepts quick and clear definitions.

[Mahira · Rating 3 out of 5]

I must agree with what most of the other reviews are saying, i.e. the book itself is good, it contains a lot of information, it explains most of the things quite comprehensibly (if you manage to keep attention) and with accordingly picked examples, although it sometimes behaves more like an overview of the field than a proper introduction but alright, it is fairly difficult to stick to the fine line between the two, but what the real problem seems to be is the conversational style that, of course, makes it easier to read readability-wise but makes it difficult to keep your attention through all the fluff and extract the important stuff from it. It would work wonders as a lecture but it is not great in text.
If you have experience with extracting information from a longer text, I can totally recommend this book, it is great for examples and case studies, but if not, you are, let's say, just starting at college and would prefer something more straight-forward, this might not be the book for you. I would, however, recommend keeping this publication in mind for future reference.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I DID NOT LIKE THIS BOOK AT ALL. There's really not much to say about that...