28.2082, Review: Anthro Ling; Lang Acquisition; Socioling: Cameron, Bayley, Lucas (2015)

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-28-2082. Wed May 03 2017. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 28.2082, Review: Anthro Ling; Lang Acquisition; Socioling: Cameron, Bayley, Lucas (2015)

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Date: Wed, 03 May 2017 17:28:31
From: Pablo Pintado-Casas [pcasas at kean.edu]
Subject: The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics

 
Discuss this message:
http://linguistlist.org/pubs/reviews/get-review.cfm?subid=36124897

Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-2268.html

EDITOR: Robert  Bayley
EDITOR: Richard  Cameron
EDITOR: Ceil  Lucas
TITLE: The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics
SUBTITLE: Second Edition
SERIES TITLE: Oxford Handbooks in Linguistics
PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press
YEAR: 2015

REVIEWER: Pablo - Pintado-Casas, Kean University

Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics is an in-depth study of the
relationship between language and society. The book contains forty chapters
grouped into six sections. The first section is dedicated to the foundations
of  Sociolinguistics from a disciplinary perspective, including Linguistic
Anthropology, Critical Discourse Analysis, Conversation Analysis, and other
Psycholinguistics approaches. The second part is devoted to the study of
various methodologies and approaches, such as quantitative and qualitative
analysis of social interaction, longitudinal studies, and a most valuable
section of methods for the study of sign language. In the third section,
Bilingualism and Language Contact, the topics discussed range from pidgins and
creoles, language maintenance and shift, second language acquisition, to code
switching and sign language contact. The six articles included in the fourth
part consider linguistic variations and change from a phonetic, morphological,
syntactic and pragmatic perspective. The fifth section cover current
linguistic trends pertaining to language policy,  language ideology and
language attitudes in Africa, English-dominant countries, Greater China, South
Asia, Western Europe, the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, the Post-Soviet
Countries, and Latin America. As with all previous, the final article
considers the role of sign language within the realm of Sociolinguistics.
Finally, the last section of the Oxford  Handbook sheds light on the field of 
Sociolinguistics from a professional and public interest standpoint, by
examining relevant modern-day topics such as language and law, medicine,
social justice and activism, ecological diversity, and language awareness from
a  community perspective.

EVALUATION

This latest handbook is carefully organized and covers a very broad range of
relevant topics. Perhaps most noteworthy are the in-depth studies on
multilingualism, language contact, language variation, language
revitalization, sign language, and the final chapter on the relationship
between sociolinguistics and social activism. The articles have been
meticulously edited and include useful references for further reading. It is
also important to mention that throughout the text, numerous examples are
taken from a variety of world languages, thus establishing multi linguistic
and cross-cultural comparisons. The handbook includes the contributions of
forty-seven distinguished scholars whose areas of expertise include
Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, English, Hispanic and
Slavic Linguistics.  Beyond these fields, many contributors in the field of
Anthropology, Sociology, Criminology, Medicine and Geriatrics collaborated by
providing highly qualified knowledge in their respective disciplines, thus
offering a rich array of different perspectives and viewpoints. The volume
includes thirty-nine tables and fifty-one figures that serve to clearly
illustrate concepts, terminology, and data pertaining to complex
socio-linguistics matters that may otherwise be difficult to understand by the
reader. I consider the The Oxford Handbook of Sociolinguistics to be an
invaluable new contribution to the field of sociolinguistics, as it presents
the interdisciplinary development of this field over the past decades. While
it certainly stands out for its careful organization of  abundant material, it
must be especially praised for the special attention given to relevant topics
that pertain to modern-day social preoccupations. In this sense, it will no
doubt inspire those in the field to further their research.  In a classroom
setting, it would serve as an engaging academic tool for an overall
introduction to the growing field of sociolinguistics. In sum, this handbook
is a unique and welcomed addition to the Oxford Handbook collection, which
already include studies in the areas of Applied Linguistics, Cognitive
Science, Comparative Syntax, Compositionality, Language Evolution, Linguistic
Analysis, Linguistic Minimalism, Translation Studies, and Linguistic Typology.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr.Pablo Pintado-Casas teaches at the School for Global Education & Innovation/ 
World Languages-Spanish at Kean University (Union, New Jersey). He teaches 
undergraduate courses in Syntax, Morphology, Phonetics, and Applied Linguistics; 
also, he taught several graduate courses on History of Spanish language, Hispanic 
Bilingualism, Socio-Linguistics, Spanish in America, Comparative Romance Languages. 
His main research interests focuses on Semantics, and the problem of the meaning 
of sentences based on the concept of “situation”.



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