Introducing Sociolinguistics

Rajend Mesthrie is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Senior Research Scholar at the University of Cape Town. He was Head of the Linguistics Section (1998 – 2009), and holder of an NRF research chair in migration, language, and social change. He was President of the Linguistics Society of Southern Africa (2002-2009) and President of the International Congress of Linguists (2013-2018). He is an elected honorary life member of SALALS (South African Linguistic and Applied Linguistics Society) and the LSA (Linguistic Society of America). He is a past co-editor of English Today (2008-2012). Amongst his book publications are Language in Indenture: a Sociolinguistic history of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa (1992, reprinted. 2019), Introducing Sociolinguistics (with Swann, Deumert & Leap, Edinburgh University Press 2009), Language in South Africa (ed., 2002) and Youth Language Practices & Urban Language Contact in Africa (ed., with Hurst-Harosh & Brookes, 2021). Joan Swann is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Language and Communication in the School of Education at the Open University, UK.

• List of Tables, Maps and FiguresAbbreviationsAcknowledgementsNote to Readers1. Clearing the Ground: Basic Issues, Concepts and Approaches2. Regional Dialectology3. Social Dialectology4. Language Variation and Change5. Style and Stylistic Variation6. Language Choice and Code-switching7. Language in Interaction8. Media, Modes, Mobilities9. Gender and Language Use10. Language Contact and its Outcomes11. Globalisation and Language12. Language and PowerBibliographyGlossaryIndex

The international team behind this new edition draws deeply on global scholarship. The book delivers exceptional technical and theoretical training with vivid and diverse data. It reflects the true breadth of the field — spanning classic and new media, cultures, and insights in a fast-changing world.