A Dictionary of Sociolinguistics [Paperback]

Joan Swann (Author), Ana Deumert (Author), Rajend Mesthrie (Author), Theresa Lillis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0817350977 | ISBN-13: 978-0817350970

The burgeoning field of sociolinguistics (the socially oriented study of language) is characterized by increasing heterogeneity and a proliferation of theories, concepts, and new terminology. This dictionary is designed to help a user navigate a way through the complex discipline. The entries are organized alphabetically and are explained with a minimum of academic jargon. The dictionary accommodates a broad interpretation of sociolinguistics, including macro- and micro-sociolinguistics and a range of approaches within variationist, interactional, critical, and applied traditions. The authors draw from professional experience in all areas of sociolinguistics and a variety of geographical areas, including the United States, United Kingdom and Europe, Australia, southern Africa, and the Indian subcontinent. Topics covered are relevant to a number of academic disciplines, such as anthropology, psychology, communications, sociology, education, and linguistics.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" A very useful resourced for both undergraduates and graduates.  The entries are clear and concise, and cover the territory admirably." —Harold F. Schiffman, University of Pennsylvania

About the Author

Joan Swann and Theresa Lillis are members of the Centre for Language and Communications at the Open University, UK.  

Ana Deumert is a Lecturer in the School of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics at Monash University, Australia.  

Rajend Mesthrie is Professor of Linguistics in the Department of English at The University of Cape Town.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: University Alabama Press (March 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0817350977
• ISBN-13: 978-0817350970
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,357,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential, thorough and clear!, September 14, 2008

By 

Daniel Josephy H. "Music fan \m/, language do... (San José, Costa Rica) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Dictionary of Sociolinguistics (Paperback)

I bought this dictionary for my Sociolinguistics course of the M.A. at the UNA (Universidad Nacional, National University of Costa Rica). It has really helped me a lot, and is one of the best dictionaries I have bought recently.

This dictionary is complete, you will probably find every word you would need concerning the area of Sociolinguistics in here. I love that the definitions are very well explained, and that they quote the authors in them. The definitions are very thorough, yet the vocabulary used is quite simple and "user-friendly," so pretty much anyone can understand it. Furthermore, the definitions are long enough to make you have a good and complete idea of the concept/word, yet they are also short enough for you to just go and grab the dictionary and look for them without feeling the pressure of having to read 5+ pages.

I liked a lot that they also have the biography of various people, such as "Goffman, Erving (1922-82), "Lakoff, Robin" and "Kachru, Braj B. (1932- )."

Here is an example (written exactly as it appears on the dictionary) of one of the most common words associated with Sociolinguistics, "dialect" (words between - - appear in bold in the dictionary):

dialect Describes the speech habits (pronunciation, lexicon, grammar, pragmatics) characteristic of a geographical area or region, or of a specific social group. Sociolinguists, therefore, may talk about -social dialects- and -regional dialects-. The term -class dialect- is also found for clearly defined varieties distinguishable along class lines. (Note, however, that in continental European linguistics the term 'dialect' refers primarily to regional varieties and is rarely used to describe the social varieties of a language). A distinction is sometimes made between -rural dialects-, spoken in rural areas and often showing maintenance of older dialect structures (i.e. they are said to be CONSERVATIVE), and -urban dialects-, spoken in the cities, and often characterised by dialect CONVERGENCE and mixing as speakers of different dialects come into contact with one another (urban dialects are often INNOVATIVE).

In its popular usage the term 'dialect' is commonly contrasted with the supra-regional and prestigious STANDARD 'language'. This evaluative and hierarchical usage has been questioned by sociolinguists, who would see a language as a composite of all its dialects including its standard norm (sometimes also called -standard dialect-), which is many cases emerged historically from one or more regional social dialects. In this sense, a language may be described as a -diasystem- (e.g. Weinreich, 1954), i.e. an abstract system comprising of various regional and social dialects. It is also recognised, however, that a straightforward distinction between 'dialect' and 'language' is problematical (see LANGUAGE). For further discussion, see Chambers and Trudgill (1998). See also ACCENT, DIALECT CONTINUUM, DIALECTALISATION, DIALECTOLOGY.

So there you go, I really recommend this dictionary, it is actually quite cheap, so you really have no excuse for not buying it.