Abstract
Deckert and Vickers start with an elaboration of the term ‘sociolinguistics’. They move away from a narrow definition which looks at language varieties and globalization. Instead they draw readers’ attention to the broader scope of the term by adopting an interdisciplinary approach presenting work from linguistics, anthropology, sociology, psychology and education, where they consider individuals’ interactions with regard to concepts of ideology and power which influence people’s construction of identity. Looking through the lens of identity, the authors give a compelling overview of state-of-the-art concepts in the study of sociolinguistics. In their analysis, identity is pivotal to all concepts in sociolinguistics.
At the start of each chapter, the authors explain the organization of the chapter and its relation to other concepts discussed elsewhere in the book. Also, at the end of each section, they give a summary of the main issues they have covered and what they aim to discuss next. From a pedagogical perspective, they have included a list of key terms at the start of each chapter, study questions at the end of each section as a thought exploration exercise, chapter summaries and further reading.
This book is divided into eight chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction which gives an overview of chapters in the book. It establishes a strong link with regards to the relation between the study of language, the individual and his/her identities, and his/her interaction with society. However, there is no mention of the way identity was viewed in the past. To frame their perspective for newcomers to the field, the authors could have briefly mentioned essentialist views on identity and how human behaviour was interpreted based on their identity, and then made a move to the poststructuralist views on subject and multiple identities individuals possess as their roles change from one context to another (Peirce, 1995). In Chapter 2, the authors argue that identity is dynamic, fluid, flexible, multiple, conflictual and co-constructed in the ongoing interactions among individuals.
Chapter 3 revisits language variation and Labov’s early work in New York department stores, and shows that though it was not the purpose of this research, his findings can be very telling in revealing aspects of people’s identities. In addition, concepts of variation, language change and language contact are examined in this chapter.
In Chapter 4, the authors argue that learning a language is closely tied to societal circumstances and the challenges individuals face as they expose aspects of their identities. Work on language socialization started within an Ethnography of Communication perspective focusing on speech communities, but later adopted a Community of Practice (CoP) perspective as a mechanism to explain how socialization can occur. The authors could have clarified this notion further by explaining some of the characteristics of CoP identified by Wenger (2006), for example, joint problem-solving and requesting shared experiences.
Chapter 5 focuses on how individuals use language in interaction and how they orient themselves toward one another and the subject matter as they engage in talk. It covers Goffman’s concepts of face, footing and participation and their relation to the notion of politeness; how different contextualization cues can be so differently interpreted by individuals in interaction due to cultural differences; and conversation analysis which considers conversation as both a local management system and an interactionally managed one which has a structure that all participants follow. Interaction is where an individual’s identity is shaped.
Chapter 6 shows how power is performed in family, workplace and bureaucratic settings. Indexicality is showcased as a means to manifest social relations through language. Chapter 7 considers how the media’s use of language underpins language hierarchies and the perception of language dialects and varieties. It also considers how linguistic features center around the ideologies that are essential for the construction of an agreement about what is of value and regarded as true by individuals and how these meaning makings construct power in society.
Chapter 8 discusses sociolinguistic methods and approaches and, as mentioned in the blurb on the back cover, it is especially interesting as it can be used as a standalone chapter. This chapter could benefit both undergraduate and postgraduate students and could also be a good tool for those who want to do sociolinguistic research.
All through the book, narrative examples from people’s everyday interactions have been used to make compelling explanations. The authors underscore that language and society is not a product per se and something to just read about. Rather, it is something to do and discover through activity.
The book is written in a style that is accessible for readers. The authors use first person and active voice to set out an equitable relationship with readers by inviting them into thought exploration, as well as actively socializing them into doing sociolinguistics by relating theories to the readers’ own experiences. The authors encourage readers to find their own voice in their journey through the book by asking them to critically evaluate the concepts discussed.
Unfortunately, there are some proofreading slips which readers could find distracting. For example, on page 50, there is a reference to section 3.2.1, but the book does not have such a section. Also, there are some grammatical problems, for example, have know to/have to know (p. 52), in relation/in relation to (p. 92), his maths aren’t good/is not good (p. 136).
Nevertheless, I believe Deckert and Vickers have provided newcomers to the field with a good resource on how varieties and dialects are used at the social, political and economic levels with reference to identity construction of individuals in different contexts in society.