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Chapter 7 - Applied Sociolinguistics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2025

Daniel Schreier
Daniel Schreier
Affiliation:
University of Zurich
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Summary

In this chapter we will investigate how sociolinguistic theory overlaps with selected areas of applied linguistics. We revisit the question how discrimination operates in the language ideology of Standard English and find out how this may entail serious impediments in domains such as education and health advice. We look at how anthropological and ethnographic issues have an impact on cultural misunderstandings, how insights from variation and change can be used to help improve children’s reading and writing skills, and will discuss the involvement of sociolinguists in dialect maintenance and revival issues. There are special sections of forensic sociolinguistics and legal aspects of language usage, and we present hands-on cases of real-life issues where sociolinguistics is relevant, particularly the court case following the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2013.

Keywords

Standard language ideologylinguistic prejudicelinguistic discrimination/linguicismmatched/verbal guise techniquesforensic linguisticsconsistencydistinctivenesslanguage analysis for the determination of origin (LADO)restricted and elaborate codesdeficit hypothesisHubert Devonish#BlackLivesMatter
Type
Chapter
Information
English Sociolinguistics
An Introduction
 , pp. 187 - 219
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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References

Further Reading

Coulthard, M. (2010). Forensic Linguistics: The Application of Language Description in Legal Contexts. Langage et société, 15–33. doi:10.3917/ls.132.0015. URL: www.cairn.info/revue-langage-et-societe-2010-2-page-15.htm.Google Scholar
Eades, D. (2011). Sociolinguistics and the Law. In: Mesthrie, R., ed., The Cambridge Handbook of Sociolinguistics (Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 377–395. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511997068.028.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rickford, J., & King, S. (2019). Language and Linguistics on trial: Hearing Rachel Jeantel (and Other Vernacular Speakers) in the Courtroom and Beyond. Rickford, In: J. & Sankoff, G., Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 245–300. doi:10.1017/9781316091142.014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garrett, P. (2010). Attitudes to Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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