Language and Society

ISBN-13: 9780521456630 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 516 str.

William Downes; Jean Aitchison

Opis

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of Downes' textbook is an accessible introduction to the social aspects of language and their various explanations. Topics covered include domains of language use, language change, code-switching, speech as social action, and the nature of meaning and understanding. This new edition includes an up-to-date analysis of language standardization, language conflict and planning.

Recenzje

'… a useful and original introduction, one which accomplishes the difficult task of being suitable for both the student of language and the general reader.' Jenny Cheshire

Spis treści

Acknowledgements; 1. Linguistics and sociolinguistics; 2. A tapestry in space and time; 3. Language varieties: processes and problems; 4. Discovering the structure in variation; 5. Rhoticity; 6. At the intersection of social factors; 7. Change, meaning and acts of identity; 8. The discourse of social life; 9. Communication: words and world; 10. Action and critique; 11. Language and social explanation; Further reading; References; Index.