English Sociolinguistics

Daniel Schreier is Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Zurich. He has taught and researched in the United States, New Zealand and Germany, and held an Erskine Fellowship at the University of Canterbury (Christchurch, New Zealand). His research interests include varieties of English around the world, language variation and change, contact linguistics and sociolinguistics. He is author of several books on English in the South Atlantic, editor of books on language change in English, including written sources, has published some eighty articles, co-edited the journal English World-Wide (from 2013–2019) and is Co-Editor of the Cambridge Handbook of World Englishes.

• Preface; 1. English sociolinguistics: why it matters; 2. From dialectology to sociolinguistics: a short history; 3. Individuals, networks, communities, society: from variation to change; 4. English in contact: from code-switching to the birth of new varieties; 5. English historical sociolinguistics; 6. Interactional sociolinguistics; 7. Applied sociolinguistics; 8. Language planning and the law; 9. The sociolinguistics of globalisation; 10. A tribute to sociolinguist(ic)s; Appendix; Glossary; References; Index.

'English Sociolinguistics: An Introduction combines a comprehensive overview of the study of English sociolinguistics with accessible and topical examples and practical exercises, making the study of sociolinguistics engaging and fun for undergraduates. The novelty of this book is that it bridges many different subfields of sociolinguistics, connecting both historical and modern perspectives, and addresses global, real-world issues like multilingualism and language rights. I'm looking forward to using examples from this book in my teaching.' Lynn Clark, University of Canterbury