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Van Herk Gerard , What is sociolinguistics? Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell , 2012. Pp. xvii, 243. Pb. $36.95.
Book Reviews
Gerard Van Herk's What is sociolinguistics? is the first in Wiley-Blackwell's "Linguistics in the world" series, which features textbooks that assume little prior knowledge in introducing foundational topics of language. Accordingly, Van Herk's text provides firm sociolinguistic footing for beginning students. Readers with no previous knowledge in sociolinguistics will have little trouble following, as Van Herk explains technical terms in clear lay language and illustrates with well-chosen examples that do not presuppose familiarity with concepts presented. Beyond its informative value, Van Herk's entertaining prose makes this an enjoyable read. The book is sprinkled with personal anecdotes that are funny and relatable, and help make it accessible to the most beginning student.
Ch. 1 introduces the author--who and where he is, what he does, how he speaks--and begins to address what sociolinguistics is, highlighting connections to other disciplines. Ch. 2 covers a great deal of terminological groundwork, emphasizing important differences between sociolinguistics and other linguistic fields. Van Herk contrasts sociolinguists and "normal people" within a discussion about standard and nonstandard varieties, and draws a nice parallel between linguistics and other fields: for geologists, diamonds and feldspar are simply both minerals, which have different societal values (13); the same is true of language varieties for linguists. The chapter contains the requisite discussion on language and dialect; speech community, speech network, and community of practice are also clearly defined. The chapter ends with a useful text box on variationist methodology.
The next set of chapters cover social factors that sociolinguists typically study. Ch. 3, "Place," demonstrates the complex sociohistorical factors involved in how regional dialects develop, and discusses physical, linguistic, and social isolation, each illustrated with a case study (Newfoundland English, Québec French, and African Nova Scotian English). Van Herk then turns to newer sociolinguistic conceptualizations of place, discussing how relationships and tensions between urban and rural areas may affect language use and the spread of features, and closing the chapter with enregisterment.
Ch. 4, "Social class," revisits previously mentioned concepts: status and prestige, probabilistic versus categorical variation, and the distinction between variables and variants. Van Herk explains hypercorrection and provides proposed...