Introducing Language and Society

Rodney H. Jones is Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Reading, where he teaches Sociolinguistics and Language and Digital Media on both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He has published widely in the areas of sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, computer mediated communication, and health communication. His other textbooks include Discourse Analysis, 2nd edition (Routledge, 2018), and Understanding Digital Literacies, 2nd edition, with Christoph Hafner (Routledge, 2021). Christiana Themistocleous is an Associate Professor in Sociolinguistics at the University of Reading where she has been teaching modules in Sociolinguistics, Language and Gender and Research Methods since 2010. Her research interests fall within the areas of societal multilingualism and digital media. Her recent work on multilingualism in the linguistic landscape of conflict zones has been funded by the British Academy and published in journals like Linguistic Landscapes, Discourse, Context & Media and Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development.

• Introduction; 1. Imagining languages and their speakers; 2. Resources and repertories; 3. Language variation; 4. Modes and media of communication; 5. Code mixing, crossing and translanguaging; 6. Style and identity; 7. Language attitudes, mocking and appropriation; 8. language in the material world; 9. Mobility, contact and flows; Appendix. A sociolinguist's toolkit.

'The most refreshing text on applied sociolinguistics I have seen. The coverage of topics and theories is impressive. The vivid examples and the project ideas motivate students to research any topic of their interest with a real sense of purpose and clear, achievable learning objectives.' Li Wei, UCL Institute of Education