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ARTICLE HISTORY:
Received June 2015
Received in revised form September 2015 Book Review
Accepted September 2015
Available online September 2015
An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (7th ed.),
Ronald Wardhaugh & Janet M. Fuller (2015), Wiley-Blackwell,
ISBN 978-1-118-73229-8
1a 2a
Zeinab Kafi , Khalil Motallebzadeh
1. Introduction what works in the classroom and what does
not. This is in line with what Wardhaugh
hose who have ever tried to read (2015) clearly believes in by highlighting that
something of an academic character sociolinguistics is still clearly unified through
about the role of culture and language,
T its concern with how people use language to
would hardly deny the deep rooted and create and express identities, relate to one
profound nature of the language employed by another in groups, and seek to resist, protect,
Wardhaugh (2006) to illustrate the effect of or increase various kinds of power.
culture and its interaction with language as
th
well as the underlying themes and categories. In his latest edition (i.e., 7 ed.), An
An Introduction to Sociolinguistics was co- Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2015),
authored by Janet M. Fuller, right after Wardhaugh, along with Fuller, puts forward
Wardhaugh’s fifth edition (2006). This the layout of the book as containing four
textbook opens the door to new and numerous general topics/parts (Language and
insights for language teachers to get to know Communities, Inherent Variety, Language and
1
PhD Candidate, Email: kafizb@gmail.com (Corresponding Author)
Tel: +98- 915-525-3325
2
Associate Professor, Email: kmotallebz@gmail.com
a Islamic Azad University, Torbat-Heidarieh Branch, Iran
136 Book Review: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
Interaction, and Sociolinguistics and Social societies and the different ideologies we have
Justice) each embracing three up to four about languages surround this issue. They also
chapters which all result in a rich 447 page softly pick up the idea of ‘Linguistic
textbook. On a wider scope, the themes will Landscape’ and define it as “the display of
recur across the discussions of dialects, languages in public spaces, including signs,
multilingualism, discourse, and social justice. billboards, advertisements, and graffiti” (p.
The book largely begins with a short 86). They strongly put this belief forward that
introduction provided by the authors mainly how languages appear in public space provides
focusing on the key concepts in the study of evidence about underlying ideologies
sociolinguistics as well as the general layout of concerning particular codes and their speakers.
the book. They portray this through a short Moreover, one pattern of language use they
explanation of notions such as competence and explore is diglossia, in which the two
performance, variation, language and culture, languages differ in terms of their status in
the Whorfian hypothesis, and finally the society; one is considered more prestigious
methodological concerns in this area. and is used in more formal contexts, the other
is reserved for more casual events and
2. Chapter 2: Language, Dialects, and interactions. Finally, what is discussed as the
Varieties end point of this chapter, are the three
approaches to the study of multilingual
In the second chapter, ‘Languages, Dialects discourse which include Communication
and Varieties’, the central issues move around Accommodation theory, the Markedness
the notion of standard language which depicts Model, and the study of language choice as
the difference between a language and a part of the social construction of identity.
dialect by talking about style, register, and 5. Chapter 5: Contact Languages:
genre and brings the idea to an end by Structural Consequences of Social
highlighting the fact that “particular ways of Factors
speaking are considered distinct languages or
subordinated dialects because of sociopolitical Contact languages and the underlying issues
ideologies and identities, not because of are discussed in chapter 5. The authors firstly
linguistic differences between varieties” (p. talk about the ever well-known issue of Lingua
54). And also stress the fact that each language Francas, as “a language which is used
has got its own regional, and social dialects as habitually by people whose mother tongues are
well as style, register, and genre. different in order to facilitate communication
3. Chapter 3: Defining Groups between them” (p. 115). What surfaces in the
chapter is a reference given to pidgin and
‘Defining Groups’ is the bulk of attention in creole. They claim that, most of the linguists
chapter 3. Speech communities, language in this area often use the terms superstrate and
boundaries, and shared norms constitute part substrate to refer to the different roles
of the discussions in this chapter. The authors languages play in the development of a contact
also try to well define the term ‘Social language. Right after this, the formation of
Identities’ by stressing the fact that identity is pidgins and creoles is discussed as well as
not what you have, it is absolutely what you their geographical distribution, and finally,
do! It is something that finds its basis in their linguistic characteristics such as
interaction. They further and finally discuss phonology, morphosyntax, and vocabulary are
what some beliefs about language and social explained in detail. All in all the focus of the
chapter is on how languages change.
groups are, and how a person’s identity can be
linked to social group membership. 6. Chapter 6: Language Variation
4. Chapter 4: Languages in Contact: An old saying from William Cowper gives a
Multilingual Societies and Multilingual nice taste to the beginning of part two of this
Discourse book (chapter 6). He pictures language
Chapter 4 attempts to explain that, variation by uttering that, “Variety is the spice
multilingualism is an upcoming issue in many of life. Constance alone is strange” (p. 139).
Z. Kafi & K. Motallebzadeh/ International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 4(2), 2016 ISSN 2329-2210 137
Through talking about regional variation, he claiming that changes toward more vernacular
mentions mapping dialects and attempts to forms tend to be led by men, while changes
refer to dialect mixture and free variation in toward the standard forms tend to be led by
this way: dialect mixture “is the existence in women. They also make use of the term
one locality of two or more dialects which Linguistic Marketplace to state the fact that,
allow a speaker or speakers to draw now on there are some forces at work including what
one dialect and then on the other” (p. 147). An individuals want and what they will accept or
alternative explanation is free variation, that is, reject linguistically to satisfy these wants?
variation of no social significance. The authors Having discussed the changes in progress, the
further define a linguistic item having authors point out two main kinds of changes:
identifiable variants, which are the different change from above (change brought about
forms used in an environment as Linguistic consciously, containing issues of prestige) and
Variable (For example, words like singing and below (change from below conscious
fishing are sometimes pronounced as singin’ awareness, which is systematic). Finally, the
and fishin’). What comes highlighted in the relation between lifestyle and language change
analysis of variants is the principle of is explained through what Eckert calls ‘jocks’
accountability. and ‘burnouts’ (“Jocks tend to be college-
7. Chapter 7: Three Waves of Variation bound and white-collaroriented; burnouts will
leave school for the blue-collar workplace” (p.
Studies 217)).
Continuing the ideas presented in chapter 6, 9. Chapter 9: Ethnographic Approaches
different waves of variation are put for a in Sociolinguistics
debate in chapter 7. The first wave includes
gender variation, and the fourth floor. The crucial importance of language for
Wardhaugh and his co-author, refer to interaction in chapter 9, is revealed through a
hypercorrection as an event which “occurs very touching sentence by Robert Southey:
when individuals consciously try to speak like “My never-failing friends are they, with whom
people they regard as socially superior but I converse day by day”. This chapter largely
actually go too far and overdo the particular focuses on ethnography approaches from a
linguistic behavior they are attempting to sociolinguistic perspective. This kind of
match” (p. 147).The second wave includes research is mostly carried out through
social networks in Belfast (Northern Ireland), participant observation. The ethnography of
and gender variation. Finally, in the third communication is firstly discussed through the
wave, they discuss issues such as stance. notion of communicative competence (the
8. Chapter 8: Language Variation and knowledge of how to use language in
culturally appropriate ways). There exists a
Change very nice and tangible explanation of the issue
The central idea in chapter 8 is to discuss how at hand, to which a paragraph is dedicated and
variation can lead to language change. To do it is worth mentioning here:
so, firstly the traditional view of change is In learning to speak we are also learning
explained (changes that result in structural to communicate in ways appropriate to
consequences) as well as externally motivated the group in which we are doing that
changes (changes brought about through learning; this is sometimes called
language contact). Further on, the chapter language socialization. These ways differ
depicts and explains some of the changes in from group to group; consequently, as
progress such as vowel shift. Change over time we move from one group to another or
or age-grading (i.e., using speech appropriate from one language to another, we must
to your age group, features which you may no learn the new ways if we are to it into
longer use when you are older) is the next that new group or to use that new
issue being illustrated in the chapter. The language properly. Communicative
relation between gender and language change competence is therefore a key
is then explained with the help of a reference component of social competence. (p.
given to a generalization that has been made, 231)
138 Book Review: An Introduction to Sociolinguistics
They later bring up the topic of sometimes said that, conversations are locally
ethnomethodology to stress that, “they are managed; that is, “they proceed without any
interested in the processes and techniques that conscious plan and the participants simply rely
people use to interpret the world around them on using the principles that are available to
and to interact with that world” (p. 235). them to achieve any wider objectives they
Finally, Linguistic ethnography, as a relatively have” (p. 282) Later on in the chapter, they
new issue in sociolinguistics, is another area of maintain that, one particularly important
interest to the authors in this chapter. They principle used in CA is the adjacency pair i.e.,
refer to it as “attempts to combine close detail utterance types of certain kinds are found to
of local action and interaction as embedded in co-occur. Finally, they shed light on
a wider social world” (p. 241). interactional sociolinguistics, which is defined
10. Chapter 10: Pragmatics as “the search for replicable methods of
qualitative analysis that account for our ability
Pragmatics goes as the main category of to interpret what participants intend to convey
discussion in chapter 10. To smoothly open the in everyday communicative practice” (p. 291).
discussion in this chapter, speech acts and its This is considered as one strand of linguistic
sub categories (propositions, and phatic ethnography according to Rampton (2007).
utterances) are put forward. Performative The chapter is closed by critical discourse
utterances are also described as the case in analysis as a method designed to show how
which “a person is not just saying something social inequality is reproduced through
but is actually doing something if certain real- language use.
world conditions are met” (p. 249). 12. Chapter 12: Language, Gender, and
Locutions (the utterances we use are Sexuality
locutions.), illocutionary acts (the intent of a "It is hard for a woman to define her feelings
locution is called an illocutionary act.), and in language which is chiefly made by men to
perlocutions (the effect on the listeners to do express theirs” (p. 309), is the initiation of the
things). Later on, four conversation maxims by th
Grice are put forward (quality, quantity, 12 chapter: "language, gender and sexuality".
relation, and manner) and the concept of To depict the relation between language and
politeness (positive and negative politeness, gender, the authors firstly maintain that,
indirectness, and social distance) is explained gender is a culturally constructed phenomenon
in depth. Power and solidarity is the final and further refers to the terms Transgendor
feature of this chapter in which topics such as (people who have transitioned from one sex
pronouns and positioning, naming and titles, category to another) and cisgendor (people
and fluidity and change in address terms are whose sex category matches their gender). The
discussed. In fact, the authors turn to pronouns major discussion here centers around the fact
and other terms of address to explore how that sexist language was mainly used to refer
these aspects of language are used to position to the words that differentiated men from
the speaker and addressee in the interaction. women, but later on more gender neutral
words were used to lessen the discrimination
11. Chapter 11: Discourse Analysis and to shift the difference from a more
masculine taste to a more neutral one.
Chapter 11, discourse analysis (DA), largely meanwhile, he puts forward the idea of gender
tries to depict that we rarely use language preferential language mainly to say that, one
monologically and such uses are clearly way of speaking/language may be preferred by
marked. The unmarked use is dialogical, and one gender but not by the other. Deficit
conversation analysis (CA) is another sub language is used to depict the way women use
category, trying to point out that the language and tend to act in serious social
conversational analysts, working within the gatherings, due to the fact that, they feel less
ethnomethodological tradition, point out that, confident in some circumstances and they tend
regardless of how many speakers are involved to show this in their utterances by using forms
in a conversation, speakers take turns of such as tag questions. What gives rise to their
various lengths with very little overlap. They discussion throughout this chapter, is
keep stressing the fact that, it is also dominance, i.e., power relations give the
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