From its beginnings in the 1960s, sociolinguistics developed several different subfields with distinct methods and interests: the variationist tradition established by Labov, the anthropological tradition of Hymes, interactional sociolinguistics as developed by Gumperz, and the sociology of language represented by the work of Fishman. All of these areas have seen a great deal of growth in recent decades, and recent studies have led to a more broadly inclusive view of sociolinguistics. Hence there is a need for a handbook that will survey the main areas of the field, point out the lacunae in our existing knowledge base, and provide directions for future research.The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics will differ from existing work in four major respects. First, it will emphasize new methodological developments, particularly the convergence of linguistic anthropology and variationist sociolinguistics. Second, it will include chapters on sociolinguistic developments in areas of the world that have been relatively neglected in the major journals. Third, its chapters are written by contributors who have worked in a range of languages and whose work addresses sociolinguistic issues in bi- and multilingual contexts, i.e. the contexts in which a majority of the world's population lives. Finally, it will include substantial material on the rapidly growing study of sign language sociolinguistics.

CONTENTSContributorsList of TablesList of FiguresIntroductionRobert Bayley, Richard Cameron, and Ceil LucasPart I. Disciplinary Perspectives1. Variationist SociolinguisticsRobert Bayley2. Linguistic AnthropologyJanet Shibamotoe-Smith and Vineeta Chand3. Doers and Makers: The Interwoven Stories of Sociology and the Study of LanguageChristopher McAll4. Critical Discourse AnalysisMartin Reisigl5. Conversation AnalysisPaul Seedhouse6. The Intersections of Language Socialization and SociolinguisticsKaren Watson-Gegeo and Matthew C. Bronson7. Psycholinguistic ApproachesBrandon C. Loudermilk8. Interdisciplinary ApproachesChristine Mallinson and Tyler KendallPart II. Methodologies and Approaches9. Studies of the Community and the IndividualJames A. Walker and Miriam Meyerhoff10. Experimental Methods for Measuring Intelligibility of Closely Related Language VarietiesCharlotte Gooskens11. Quantitative AnalysisKyle Gorman and Daniel Ezra Johnson12. Analyzing Qualitative Data: Mapping the Research Trajectory in Multilingual ContextsJuliet Langman13. Longitudinal StudiesGillian Sankoff14. Methods for Studying Sign LanguagesCeil LucasPart III. Bilingualism and Language Contact15. Pidgins and CreolesEric Russell Webb16. Language Maintenance and ShiftKim Potowski17. Sociolinguistics and Second Language AcquisitionMartin Howard, Raymond Mougeon, and Jean-Marc Dewaele18. CodeswitchingLi Wei19. Sign Language ContactDavid Quinto-Pozos and Robert AdamPart IV. Variation20. SociophoneticsMaciej Baranowski21. Phonology and SociolinguisticsNaomi Nagy22. Morphosyntactic VariationRuth King23. Pragmatics and Sociolinguistic VariationRichard Cameron and Scott Schwenter24. Variation and ChangeAlexandra D'Arcy25. Sociolinguistic Variation and Change in Sign LanguagesAdam Schembri and Trevor JohnstonPart V. Language Policy, Language Ideology, and Language Attitudes26. Language Policy, Ideology, and Attitudes in English-Dominant CountriesThomas Ricento27. Language Policies and Language Attitudes in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for VernacularizationNkonko M. Kamwangamalu28. Language Policy and Ideology: Greater ChinaQing Zhang29. Language Policies and Politics in South AsiaVineeta Chand30. Language Policy and Ideology in Latin AmericaEnrique Rainer Hamel31. Language Policy, Ideology, and Attitudes in Western EuropeFran?ois Grin32. Language Management in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union, and Post-Soviet CountriesAneta Pavlenko33. Language Policy and Attitudes towards Sign LanguagesJoseph HillPart VI. Sociolinguistics, the Professions, and the Public Interest34. Language and LawGregory Matoesian35. Our Stories, Ourselves: Can the Culture of a Large Medical School Be Changed without Open Heart Surgery?Richard M. Frankel36. Sociolinguistic Studies of Sign Language InterpretingCynthia Roy and Melanie Metzger37. Language Awareness in Community Perspective: Obligation and OpportunityWalt Wolfram38. Linguistic and Ecological DiversitySuzanne Romaine39. Language RevitalizationLenore A. Grenoble40. Linguistics and Social ActivismAnne H. Charity Hudley