Print Resources
- Blackledge, A. (2000). Monolingual ideologies in multilingual states: Language, hegemony and social justice in Western liberal democracies. Estudios de Sociolingüística, 1, 25‐45.
In this paper Blackledge presents an analysis of everyday discourse practices in Britain. He explores three contexts: 1) monolingual practices in a multilingual educational setting, 2) a language ideological debate in local news media, 3) and the liberal academic discourse of a report into the future of multi-ethnic Britain. His analysis suggests that in each of these contexts the many minority languages of Britain, are being ‘written out of public discourse’ as a monolingual ideology continues to prevail.
- Jones, R. (2013). Verbal hygiene in the Hong Kong gay community. World Englishes, 32(1), 75-92.
In this article Jones explores the status and function of so-called ‘standard English’ among gay men in Hong Kong. He analyses postings about English on a popular gay internet forum.
- Lippi-Green, R. (2012). English with an accent: Language, ideology, and discrimination in the United States. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
In this book, Rosina Lippi-Green explores what Americans think about different accents. Looking at a variety of contexts like the classroom, the court, the media and corporate culture, she exposes the ways in which language is used to discriminate against different kinds of people.
- Milroy, J., & Milroy, L. (2012). Authority in language: Investigating Standard English. London:
In this classic book, James and Lesley Milroy discuss how languages come to be ‘standardised’ and the social consequences of the ‘Standard Language Ideology’. They also talk about debates in Great Britain and the US about linguistic ‘correctness’ and what sort of language should be taught in schools.
Web Resources
Five things people get wrong about standard English (The Conversation)
Willem Hollmann, Professor of Linguistics at the University of Lancaster, discusses five things people get wrong about standard English.
Korean-speaking ‘Squid Game’ viewers notice clever detail about Kang Sae-byeok’s accent
This article about the way Jung Ho-yeon, who plays North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok in the television series “Squid Game,” shows how people can sometimes alter the way they talk, depending on whom they are talking to.
In this statement, a group of linguists at the University of Michigan outline the harms that can come from the ‘Standard Language Ideology’ and what can be done about it.
Print Resources
- Blommaert, P. D. J. (2010). The Sociolinguistics of Globalization. Cambridge University Press.
In this classic book, Professor Jan Blommaert argues that that the traditional ways sociolinguists have thought about languages and their speakers are inadequate, and that what is needed is a sociolinguistics that focuses on resources (not just ‘languages’) and mobility (the way people and resources move around and the impact this mobility has on the meaning and value ascribed to resources.
- Duchene, A., Moyer, M., & Roberts, C. (Eds.) (2013). Language, migration and social inequalities: A critical sociolinguistic perspective on institutions and work. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
Edited by three prominent scholars of language and migration, this collection addresses the social and linguistic changes brought about by the increased mobility of people and the new social order resulting from neoliberal economic practices, globalisation and outsourcing. The contributions focus on how linguistic inequality is (re)produced in this new economic order.
- Rymes, B. (2013). Communicating beyond language. New York: Routledge.
In this book, Professor Betsy Rhymes introduces the concept of communicative repertories, collections of resources such as multiple, languages, dress, gestures, nicknames, and media references that people deploy selectively in different situations. She talks about how people’s repertories expand and develop over their lifetimes and how focusing on repertories can help us better understand issues such as diversity and inequality.
Web Resources
My ‘linguistic repertoire (Infinite Coincidence Blog)
Blogger Rich Will explains the notion of ‘linguistic repertoires’ and then gives an account of his own repertoire.
Linguistic inequality is a social inequality (Ideas)
Tassadit Yacine, an Algerian anthropologist, discusses the relationship between linguistic and social inequality using the example of the Berber speakers in the Southern Mediterranean
The story behind the iconic kiss on the Berlin Wall (I Heart Berlin)
This webpage explains the background of the mural discussed at the beginning of Chapter 2.
Sociolinguistic evaluations of inequality (Sociolinguistic Frontiers)
Sociolinguists John Baugh gives an overview of the different ways sociolinguists address issues of inequality.
The pervasive problem of linguistic racism (BBC – Worklife)
This article explores conscious and unconscious linguistic racism in the workplace.
Print Resources
- Chambers, J.K. & Schilling, N. (2013). The handbook of language variation and change. Malden, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
This edited volume presents studies that reflect recent developments in the study of language variation. There are chapters on data collection, social differentiation, communities, contact and more.
- Eckert, P. (2018). Meaning and linguistic variation: The third wave in sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This book examines the development of the study of sociolinguistic variation, from early demographic studies to recent developments in the field which focus more on identity, stylistic practices, and social meaning.
- Krug, M. & Schlüter, J. (2013). Research methods in language variation and change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This book brings together the expertise of various established practitioners of variationist sociolinguistics. Each chapter of the book is devoted to a different research method.
This journal dedicated to the study of linguistic variation and presents contemporary work in the field.
Web Resources
Accent Expert Gives a Tour of U.S. Accents: Part 1, Part 2
In these YouTube videos, dialect coach Erik Singer and a host of other linguists and language experts take us on a tour of different accents across North America.
Why more people say ‘y’all’ (BBC Worklife)
This article talks about how a feature of southern American English is being adopted by people in other places.
This is the website for the Manchester Voices research project, led by Dr Rob Drummond, Dr Sadie Ryan and Dr Holly Dann at Manchester Metropolitan University, which has been investigating how people speak across Manchester and what people think and feel about these ways of speaking.
Print Resources
- Blommaert, J. (2018). Durkheim and the Internet: On sociolinguistics and the sociological imagination. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.
In this book, Jan Blommaert discusses the impact of digital media on how sociolinguists understand the relationship between language and society, especially in terms of such concepts as speech communities, social identities, and social norms.
- Danet, B., & Herring, S. C. (2007). The multilingual Internet: Language, culture, and communication online. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
This is a classic collection of articles about multilingualism online. Contributors address a range of issues related to online language use including language choice and code switching, linguistic diversity, and linguistic creativity and playfulness.
- Jewitt, C., Bezemer, J., & O’Halloran, K. (2016). Introducing multimodality. London: Routledge.
This book gives a comprehensive introduction of the different ways linguists and discourse analysts study multimodal texts and interactions.
- Jones, R. H., & Hafner, C. A. (2021). Understanding digital literacies: A practical introduction (2nd Edition). London: Routledge.
This book explains the different ways digital media have affected how people use language and includes a range of activities to help readers reflect on their own online language use.
- Jones, R. H., Jaworska, S., & Aslan, E. (2020). Language and media: A resource book for students (2nd edition). London: Routledge.
This book focuses on the relationship between language and a range of media formats from traditional print and broadcast media to web-based social media. It also addresses a number of current concerns around language and media including fake news, clickbait, and digital surveillance.
Web Resources
Know Your Meme – Internet meme database
This popular meme database is a repository for popular internet memes over the years. It provides explanations on the origin and spread of each meme included.
An Introductory Guide to Multimodality – UCL Institute of Education
A website prepared by the Centre for Multimodal Research at University College London which provides brief and clear explanations of different concepts related to the study of multimodal communication.
Make Everything Great Again (Wikipedia)
The Wikipedia entry about the mural of Trump and Putin kissing located on the wall of the Keulė Rūkė restaurant in Vilnius, which we discuss in Chapter 4.
My God, Help me to survive this deadly image (Medium)
Filmmaker and writer Samantha Hadara talks about the history of Dmitri Vrubel’s mural My God Help Me to Survive this Deadly Love, which we discuss in Chapter 4.
The website for Bennetons UNHATE project featuring pictures of famous world leaders kissing.
Citizen Sociolinguistics: The Ghost emoji (Betsy Rhymes)
In this blog post, Betsy Rhymes describes a citizen sociolinguistic study into how and why people use the ‘Ghost’ emoji.
Print Resources
- B., & Toribio, A. J. (2009). The Cambridge handbook of linguistic code-switching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Edited by two prominent scholars, this collection covers a range of topics related to code-switching, including how code-switching is studied, the factors that trigger code-switches, code-switching online, and the use of loanwords.
- Gardner-Chloros, P. (2009). Code-switching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
In this classic book Gardner-Chloros explores how, when and where code-switching occurs by drawing on diverse examples including novels, advertisements, emails, political speeches, medieval texts, rap music and everyday conversation.
- Sebba, M., Mahootian, S., & Jonsson, C. (2012). Language mixing and code-switching in writing: Approaches to mixed-language written discourse. London: Routledge.
This book presents research that explores code mixing in writing rather than in spoken language. Each chapter presents a different approach to studying multilingual writing including corpus linguistics, Critical Discourse Analysis, literacy studies, ethnography, and semiotics.
- Jonsson, C., & Blåsjö, M. (2020). Translanguaging and multimodality in workplace texts and writing. International Journal of Multilingualism, 17:3, 361-381.
In this study Carla Jonsson and Mona Blåsjö use ethnography to investigate professional writing in multilingual business contexts. Their findings show that professionals are expected to navigate between a translanguaging mode and a more monolingual mode in everyday communication. They argue that knowing when to choose each mode is a necessary skill/competence in multilingual workplaces.
Web Resources
Five reasons why people code-switch (npr)
This article talks about some of the different reasons people have for code-switching, including wanting to fit in, wanting to get something done, and wanting to say something in secret.
Switching gears: revising code-switching, n. (Oxford English Dictionary Blog)
In this blog post, Danica Salazar, World English Editor for Oxford Languages, discusses ‘code-switching’ and the revised entry for the term in the 2020 Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
Great idea: Translanguaging (The Bell Foundation)
This webpage from the Bell Foundation talks about the advantages of translingual pedagogies for learners of English as an Additional Language.
Print Resources
- Coupland, N. (2007). Style: Language variation and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
In this classic book on the sociolinguistics of style, Nik Coupland explains how speakers enact different social identities and create different social relationships through their stylistic choices in different contexts.
- Coates, J. (1993). Women, men, and language: A sociolinguistic account of gender differences in language. London: Longman.
In this book Jenifer Coates problematises overly simplistic approaches to language and gender (i.e. ‘men talk like this; women talk like that’) and explores how women and men perform gender in their everyday interactions different grammatical, phonological, lexical and conversational choices.
- Eckert, P., & Rickford, J. R. (Eds.). (2001). Style and sociolinguistic variation. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press.
This edited collection contains articles from leading experts on style and linguistic variation. It covers a range of important topics including audience design, identity construction, and the stylistic differences between different register and genres.
Web Resources
International Gender and Language Association
This is the website of IGALA, a scholarly organisation of sociolinguists and other social scientist that promotes and supports research on language, gender, and sexuality. I contains resources on language and gender research as well as an informative blog on the topic.
Language style as audience design Prezi
A Prezi based on Allan Bell’s article ‘Language style as audience design’ created by Rebeccah McCauley.
In this article, Rob Drummond and Erin Carrie, linguists from Manchester Metropolitan University, examine the accents that British pop starts use when they sing and how they contribute to their public images.
Lisa Loves Linguistics: The sociolinguistics of music
A blog written by sociolinguist Lisa Jansen (see Chapter 6), mostly focusing style and identity in pop music.
Print Resources
- Alim, H. S., Rickford, J. R., & Ball, A. F. (Eds.). (2016). Raciolinguistics: How language shapes our ideas about race. New York: Oxford University Press.
This edited collection contains articles on a variety of issues related to the relationship between race and language, including language mocking, appropriation, discrimination.
- Garrett, P. (2010). Attitudes to Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
In this book, Peter Garrett gives an overview of language attitudes research carried out over the past several decades and discusses the implications of language attitudes for how people use language as well as for social identity inequality and discrimination.
- Hill, J. H. (2009). The Everyday Language of White Racism. John Wiley & Sons.
In this classic book, Jane Hill analyses how everyday language often reproduces racist stereotypes and promotes discrimination. In much of the book, Hill discusses the phenomenon of ‘Mock Spanish’, but she also provides a more wide-ranging discussion of the relationship between racism and language use.
- Niedzielski, N. A., & Preston, D. R. (2003). Folk linguistics. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
This book describes Nancy Niedzielski and Dennis Preston’s ground-breaking ethnographic studies of people’s folk beliefs about language, including beliefs about language varieties and their speakers, language learning, language and gender, and a variety of other topics.
Web Resources
‘Faking the Funk’: Singing in another accent (World in Words)
This episode of the World in Words podcast considers why singers sing in accents other than their own.
See the results of a poll the BBC commissioned in November 2004 to find out how people feel about accents and languages across the British Isles. 5000 people took part in the online poll.
TikTok and the evolution of digital blackface (Wired)
Jason Parham discusses the appropriation of African American language and culture on TikTok.
Language mockery and racism (PAEC Briefs, American Association for Applied Linguistics)
In this short article, Adam Schwartz explains racist language, especially in relation to Mock Spanish.
The cultural appropriation of language (Medium)
Blogger Right Smack in the Middle discusses the different ramifications of language appropriation.
Print Resources
- Blackwood, R. (2016). Negotiating and contesting identities in linguistic landscapes. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
This book presents contemporary work that explores the linguistic landscape in relation to the projection, negotiation and contestation of identities. It contains case studies from four continents that offer insights into recent developments in the field.
- Malinowski, D. & Tufi, S. (2020). Reterritorializing linguistic landscapes: Questioning boundaries and opening spaces. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
This edited volume discusses recent theoretical, methodological and conceptual developments in the field of linguistic landscapes. It presents interdisciplinary case studies of real-world phenomena.
- Niedt, G. & Seals, C. (2020). Linguistic landscapes beyond the language classroom. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
The aim of this edited volume is to discuss how people can learn beyond formal pedagogical environments. The case studies presented show how different kinds of signs in city streets, public offices, museums, and monuments can be used for educational purposes. This innovative work demonstrates that anyone can learn from the linguistic landscape that surrounds them.
This journal publishes research in the field of linguistic landscapes. Including work on ideologies, identities and the ways multiple forms of ‘languages’ are displayed in public spaces. The journal is interdisciplinary, presenting perspectives from linguistics, politics, sociology, education, geography, economics, and law.
Web Resources
LinguaSnapp (University of Manchester)
The website for a mobile app designed by researchers at the University of Manchester, that makes it possible for researchers to gather data about linguistic landscapes through crowdsourcing. It contains information about how to download and use the app as well as links to projects that have used the app in different cities around the world.
Multilingual Manchester (University of Manchester)
Here you can find reports of projects that were conducted by students at the University of Manchester, each presenting a case study of an area or neighbourhood in Manchester e.g. Chinatown, Rochdale, Curry Mile, Oldham, Bolton. Other case studies present research on specific businesses and services like casinos, public services, healthcare and more.
Political activism in the linguistic landscape (Vimeo)
This is a video presentation by Philip Seargeant, Korina Giaxoglou and Frank Monaghan from the UK Open University of a presentation at the 12th Linguistic Landscape workshop in September 2021 discussing the importance of public space for political activism.
Print Resources
- Alim, H. S. (2006). Roc the mic right: The language of Hip Hop culture. New York: Routledge.
This book explores the role of language within global Hip Hop culture. It focuses on different discursive practices and highlights the complexity and creativity of Hip Hop language. It also explores shows how Hip Hop language can be used in educational contexts.
- Alim, H. S., Ibrahim, A., & Pennycook, A. (Eds.) (2008). Global linguistic flows: Hip Hop cultures, youth identities, and the politics of language. New York: Routledge.
This edited collection examines Hip Hop cultures, youth identities, and the politics of language within the framework of global and local linguistic ‘flows’. The contributions look at these issues from the perspectives of sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, cultural studies, and critical pedagogies.
- Capstick, T. (2020). Language and migration. London ; New York, NY: Routledge.
This is an easy-to-understand introduction to the relationship between language and migration, focusing on how language policies and literacy practices act to sustain, extend, or inhibit different kinds of migration in different contexts.
- Pennycook, A. (2007). Global Englishes and transcultural flows. London: Routledge.
In this book Professor Alistair Pennycook explores the relationship between the spread of English within processes of globalization and transcultural flows of other cultural resources, such as Hip Hop.
Web Resources
How Immigration Changes Language – (The Atlantic)
In this article, linguist John McWhorter discusses how migration is changing the way languages are spoken in Europe.
Language on the Move is a website devoted to multilingualism, language learning, and intercultural communication in the contexts of globalization and migration.
The Manchester Language Contact Site, operated by the University of Manchester Working Group on Language Contact, provides introductory information on language contact phenomena as well as case studies of a variety of language contact situations.
Hip-hop: The global voice of revolution (Pod Academy)
This podcast contains an interview with sociologist and fiction writer Sujatha Fernandes, author of the book Close to the Edge: In search of a global hip hop generation. It contains a wealth of information about the global spread of Hip Hop and the cultural and linguistic practices of artists and fans.
