An introduction to sociolinguistics

510 Pages·2012·3.35 MB·English

by  Janet Holmes.

An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
LEARNING ABOUT LANGUAGE
General Editors:
Geoffrey Leech & Mick Short, Lancaster University
Already published:
Analysing Sentences (2nd edition) Noel Burton-Roberts
Words and Their Meaning Howard Jackson
An Introduction to Phonology Francis Katamba
Grammar and Meaning Howard Jackson
Realms of Meaning: An Introduction to Semantics Th. R. Hofmann
An Introduction to Psycholinguistics Danny D. Steinberg
An Introduction to Spoken Interaction Anna-Brita Stenström
Watching English Change Laurie Bauer
Meaning in Interaction: An Introduction to Pragmatics Jenny Thomas
An Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics Friedrich Ungerer and Hans-Jörg Schmid
Exploring the Language of Poems, Plays and Prose Mick Short
Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction William O’Grady, Michael Dobrovolsky
and Francis Katamba
Analysing Sentences Noel Burton-Roberts
An Introduction to Natural Language Processing Through Prolog Clive Matthews
An Introduction to Child Language Development Susan Foster-Cohen
The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics Henry Rogers
An Introduction to Foreign Language Learning and Teaching Keith Johnson
An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (4th edition) Janet Holmes
An Introduction to
Sociolinguistics
Fourth Edition
JANET HOLMES
First published 1992 by Pearson Education Limited
Second edition published 2001
Third edition published 2008
Fourth edition published 2013
Published 2013 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1992, 2001, 2008, 2013, Taylor & Francis.
The right of Janet Holmes to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted
by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or
by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.

Notices
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broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical
treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in
evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In
using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of
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ISBN 13: 978-1-4082-7674-7 (pbk)
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
Typeset in 9/12.5pt Stone Serif by 35
For Rob
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Brief Contents
Preface xii
Author’s Acknowledgements xvi
Publisher’s Acknowledgements xvii
1 What do sociolinguists study? 1
Section I M ultilingual Speech Communities 17
2 Language choice in multilingual communities 19
3 Language maintenance and shift 53
4 Linguistic varieties and multilingual nations 76
5 National languages and language planning 100
Section II L anguage Variation: Focus on Users 129
6 Regional and social dialects 131
7 Gender and age 159
8 Ethnicity and social networks 186
9 Language change 206
Section III L anguage Variation: Focus on Uses 237
10 Style, context and register 2 39
11 Speech functions, politeness and cross-cultural communication 274
12 Gender, politeness and stereotypes 301
13 Language, cognition and culture 337
14 Analysing discourse 363
15 Attitudes and applications 409
16 Conclusion 439
References 454
Appendix: phonetic symbols 475
Glossary 477
Index 479
vii
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Contents
Preface to Fourth Edition x ii
Preface to Third Edition x iii
Preface to Second Edition x iv
Preface to First Edition x v
Author’s Acknowledgements x vi
Publisher’s Acknowledgements x vii
1 W hat do sociolinguists study? 1
What is a sociolinguist? 1
Why do we say the same thing in different ways? 2
What are the different ways we say things? 4
Social factors, dimensions and explanations 8
Section I Multilingual Speech Communities
1 7
2 L anguage choice in multilingual communities 1 9
Choosing your variety or code 19
Diglossia 27
Code-switching or code-mixing 34
3 L anguage maintenance and shift 5 3
Language shift in different communities 53
Language death and language loss 58
Factors contributing to language shift 60
How can a minority language be maintained? 64
Language revival 67
4 L inguistic varieties and multilingual nations 7 6
Vernacular languages 77
Standard languages 78
Lingua francas 82
Pidgins and creoles 85
5 N ational languages and language planning 1 00
National and official languages 10 2
Planning for a national official language 10 7
Developing a standard variety in Norway 11 1
The linguist’s role in language planning 11 5
ix