An Introduction to English Sociolinguistics

by Graeme Trousdale

Overview

Designed for beginning undergraduates studying for degrees in English, this textbook provides an introduction to a range of sociolinguistic theories and the insights they provide for a greater understanding of varieties of English, past and present. Drawing on both qualitative and quantitative approaches to sociolinguistic variation, the book provides a systematic overview such topics as:*'English' as a social and as a linguistic concept*English speech communities*Social and regional dialectology in relation to varieties of English*English historical sociolinguistics, from Old English to late Modern English*Sociolinguistics and change in English*Outcomes of contact involving varieties of English*English and language planning*English, sociolinguistics and linguistic theory.The book contains data drawn from studies of English as it is used around the world. Throughout, there is an emphasis on facilitating a deeper understanding of linguistic variation in English and the social, political and cultural contexts in which speakers and writers of English operate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780748623259
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	04/30/2010
Series:	Edinburgh Textbooks on the English Language
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.43(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Graeme Trousdale is Professor of Cognitive Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. Graeme’s publications include Constructionalization and Constructional Changes, as co-author (OUP, 2016), New Directions in Grammaticalization Research, as co-editor (John Benjamins, 2015) and The Oxford Handbook of Construction Grammar, as co-editor (OUP, 2013).

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables viii

Acknowledgements ix

To readers x

1 What is 'English'? 1

1.1 Overview 1

1.2 Languages and dialects 4

1.3 Linguistic and social criteria for different languages 6

1.4 Good and bad English 8

1.5 The native speaker of English 10

1.6 Standard English 11

1.7 Summary 14

Exercises 14

Further reading 15

2 Communities, networks and individuals 16

2.1 Overview 16

2.2 What is a community? 16

2.3 The English speech community and social networks 17

2.4 Communities of practice 22

2.5 Virtual communities 24

2.6 The individual 25

2.7 Summary 26

Exercises 27

Further reading 27

3 English and language planning 28

3.1 Overview 28

3.2 How to plan a language 29

3.3 Planning English in England 32

3.4 English in Kenya, Sri Lanka and the European Union 35

3.5 How has the globalisation of English affected language planning? 38

3.6 Summary 39

Exercise 40

Further reading 40

4 Regional and social variation 41

4.1 Overview 41

4.2 Aims and methods of traditional dialectologists 42

4.3 Aims and methods of variationist sociolinguists 45

4.4 The linguistic variable 46

4.5 A first example of quantitative variation in English 49

4.6 The issue of style 51

4.7 The three waves of variationist sociolinguistics 53

4.8 Synthesising regional and social variation 56

4.9 Summary 57

Exercises 57

Further reading 58

5 Change in English 59

5.1 Overview 59

5.2 What is linguistic change? 59

5.3 An example of variation in the past 61

5.4 The linguistic behaviour of older and younger speakers in a community 63

5.5 Other social factors in change 66

5.6 Beyond the urban west 72

5.7 Summary 74

Exercise 75

Further reading 75

6 English historical sociolinguistics 76

6.1 Overview 76

6.2 Methodology 77

6.3 Variation in Old English 78

6.4 Variation in Middle English 81

6.5 Variation in early Modern English 83

6.6 Variation in late Modern English 86

6.7 The future of English? 88

6.8 Summary 89

Exercise 90

Further reading 90

7 Language contact 92

7.1 Overview 92

7.2 Pidgin and creole varieties 92

7.3 Some features and examples of English-lexifier pidgins and creoles 95

7.4 Code-switching 97

7.5 Deanglicisation and conventionalization 100

7.6 Summary 103

Exercises 104

Further reading 104

8 Dialect contact 105

8.1 Overview 105

8.2 Dialect contact in Britain 105

8.3 Dialect contact beyond Britain 112

8.4 Networks and dialect contact 115

8.5 Summary 116

Exercise 116

Further reading 118

9 Sociolinguistics and linguistic theory 119

9.1 Overview 119

9.2 The relationship between biolinguistics and sociolinguistics 121

9.3 What do speakers know? 121

9.4 The problem of Standard English and dialect syntax 123

9.5 (Socio)linguistic modelling 124

9.6 The modular approach 126

9.7 The usage-based model 127

9.8 What about 'English'? 130

9.9 Summary 131

Exercise 132

Further reading 132

10 Conclusion 134

Appendix 136

References 138

Index 149

Editorial Reviews

"The style of writing is perfect for the intended audience (beginning undergraduates) in that it presents complex arguments in an accessible and engaging manner, drawing on interesting and varide examples,"

"There is much to recommend about this text. It is a well-written introduction to the field that I would encourage all of my first year undergraduates to read, and would recommend as summer pre-reading for uninitiated Masters student taking courses in linguistics which have a sociolinguistic component. A key strength of the book is the way it puts English within its wider historical and global context."

Journal of Liguistics, Volume 47 (2011) - Julia Snell (King's College London)