An introduction to sociolinguistics

by Janet Holmes

This introductory book considers the question "What is sociolinguistics?", and explains sociolinguistic concepts through a wide range of examples. It draws from both 'classic' approaches to the subject as well as from more recent research, introducing terms like 'code-switching' and 'social dialect'. It is conveniently divided into three sections. In the first, Janet Holmes shows how language is used in multilingual speech communities and explains how and why languages change within society and highlights the factors that lead to the displacement of one language by another, and sometimes the death of a language. The central section gives a comprehensive and well-illustrated exploration of social reasons for language change, exploring language change in monolingual communities and the features of a variety of dialects. The author shows how and why differing racial and social groups develop and maintain speech variations. In the final section, Janet Holmes assesses how attitudes to language affect speech and shows that linguistic responses depend upon a variety of contextual factors - for example, the status of the person being addressed and our reasons for speaking. Our attitudes to language have strong implications for our community. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics describes how language usage reflects the values of society, how society's view of women is reflected in language and how women are linguistically more polite than men.

Genres: Linguistics, Nonfiction, Language, Sociology, Science, Education, School

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Janet Holmes (b. 1947) is a professor of linguistics at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). She specializes in sociolinguistics, language and gender issues, workplace communication, and in New Zealand English.

Reviews

[pəˈteɪtəʊ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never enjoyed a textbook this much...

[Rima Muryantina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I miss this book so much and I lost it! damn. I read it when I was in the 3rd or 4th semester in my undergraduate year (I can't remember). This book is a very good introduction to sociolinguistics. It discusses code switching, language change, language differences according to the gender of its speaker, and so on and so forth. Really miss this book terribly.

[Aurélien Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Janet Holmes is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Victoria in Wellington (New Zealand). Sociolinguistics is the study of the relationships between language and society.

The book is structured like a school manual for students on the topic, but targeted to laid readers. Such a formal approach could have been a good academic overview, be a great way to introduce the subject to beginners while missing nothing of the field's key notions. Well, as far as I am concerned, it fails!

Of course, concepts are defined, explained, and illustrated through exercices allowing thus to better assimilate the relevance of the arguments put forward. The thing is, these exercises are too many, and even if you fly over them all the fact they can't be separated from the rest of the text render such read quite boring. Plus, it's all very confused: problems specific to multilingual societies are coming right into the middle of a discussion on societal factors affecting speech; and from diglossia we suddenly jump to the issue of the death of certain languages before coming back again to the differences between pidgin and creole! Unfocused, it goes randomly in all directions without a logical structure, and so turns quickly annoying.

The only positive is that she introduces, rigorously, the works of some eminent researchers when it comes to the core of the topic -genderlect, bilingualism/multilingualism, language use in the medias… Good on that! But would you buy a book solely for its bibliography?

[Abeer Abdullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super informative, sociolinguistics and identity and the way we use language to communicate far more things that we're aware of is super fascinating.

[Suhaib · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mediocre introduction to sociolinguistics, one I would feel reluctant as an instructor to choose for a class because of the misinformation on Arabic I have repeatedly seen. This made me question other information on the minority languages the writer mention throughout the book. In other words, it made me take everything with a grain of salt, made reading more difficult as I found myself doubting the reliability of the examples. The writer should have done better. If you are looking for an introduction to sociolinguistics, you are better off picking another.

[Shahd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book in sociolinguistic especially as an introduction.

[Stephany Efflina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book to start learning this subject

[Hayat Qaid · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing book for any beginner student in this field!
The author writes in a very clear and organized way. All important details are mentioned with smart simplicity. The book has plenty of examples and exercises with full answers to all the exercises at the end of each chapter. I highly recommend it for all those who want to study sociolinguistics or learn more about it.

[Hamdah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very key book as an introduction to sociolinguistics. It discusses different topics such as code-switching, diglossia, borrowing, and other sociolinguistics' concepts. Fundamental book. I totally recommend it.

[Ara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good survey introduction to the topic.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great introduction! It is quite dense and takes a while to get through, but it is well-written, well-formatted, and has moments of brevity, which is rare (but much appreciated) in textbooks.
There are plentiful examples and exercises throughout, as well as a full reference list and additional sources for those wanting to dig into a topic more.

[Hamidah Stoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so amazing and I would recommend it to my friends.

[Astridbasala · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dimana cara membaca bukunya

[Anis Shahira · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to be understood by beginners in Sociolinguistics study.

[Waqar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book but i lost the copy of it, i hope i can get the soft copy of it from anyone, my email akkhankhan706@gmail.com
Thanks in advance

[szymborskalyte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent textbook.

[shumi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for my previous semester.

[Wafa K · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and easy book as an intro to the field of sociolinguistic.

[Nguyễn Vinh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super informative and reader-friendly

[Mohamad Jaber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recently, I have been harboring a growing fascination with linguistics and literature. This book was pleasant, it brings attention to topics such as how migrants react linguistically to their new residence, why language varies in different societal circumstances, and the motives behind every day bilingual shifts. But to be honest I found no information in here that is not already predeterminantly known with a little thinking. It id common sense that society affects our choice of language and that vernacular vocabulary promotes solidarity.

[Ben Schroeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class called Language and Society. I found the text book to be a rather excellent authority on the most basic elements of sociolinguistics. If you need a bird's eye view of the subject, then this is the textbook for you. If you are already well versed in the field and looking for a more advanced understanding, look elsewhere.

[Cal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class, but I could have gotten as much out of it without the class. It's super easy to understand. If you have an interest in socioling but don't know where to start, start with this book.

[Gadeer Al-Shathry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory book for sociolinguistics which builds the basis of language and society interconnection. This book sums up the main concepts of sociolinguistics and is rich with lists of further readings.

[Maryam AL-Ghafri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure book for linguistics and literature students. I am studying it currently in my language and society course.simply who ever read it, no wonder he/she becomes intelligent in interacting with others
Definitely five stars for Janet Holmes

[Meem Arafat Manab · Rating 4 out of 5]

নিজে লিংগুইস্টিক্স নিয়া পড়তে না পারা আমার নিজের সাথে নিজের প্রতারণা মত মনে হয়।
এই জন্যই হয়ত এই বই পড়ে এত ভালো লাগছে। অনেক জায়গা ইন্টুইটিভ মনে হলেও, একটা ইন্ট্রোডাক্টরি টেক্সট থেকে আমি এর বেশি কিছু চাই নাই। যেইটা আমি না বুঝে পড়তেছি।

ওর্ফ-সাপির মাথায় পেরেক ঠুকে গেথে আছে।

[İdil Ekşi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very helpful and entertaining book for the people who are interested in sociolinguistics. It is easy to read and gives very good and accurate examples. Everything about sociolinguistics is included.

[Desi Widowati]

This book is a good book, because with this book I know about language

[Freddy Daniel]

ok

[Adrise · Rating 5 out of 5]

good

[Fyr Mant]

still confusing