This Very Short Introduction deals with the social life of language, presenting a succinct account of the most important aspects - both micro and macro - of sociolinguistics, such as language variation, language attitudes, and the relationship between language and identity.

• List of illustrations


• Chapter 1: Coming to Terms


• Chapter 2: Variation and Change


• Chapter 3: Perceptions of Language


• Chapter 4: Protecting Language


• Chapter 5: Languages Great and Small


• Chapter 6: Loyalty, Maintenance, Shift, Loss and Revival


• Chapter 7: In a World of Language


• Chapter 8: Name, Sex and Religion


• References


• Further Reading


• Index

John Edwards is professor of psychology at St. Francis Xavier University. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and editor of the Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development.