Variability in language use across dialects is a familiar phenomenon in sociolinguistics. Many scholars have contemplated the choices associated with variation, and the perceptions of variation on behalf of interlocutors. The interchangeability of the Spanish usted and vos, for example, has been determined to be anything but arbitrary. Rather, as noted by Karen López Alonzo in chapter 1, it is linked to directionality and the perception of structures of power in society. Conversely, some episodes of variability are believed to be driven by the processes of language acquisition, as is believed to be the case for the use of different intonational features among several Afro-Hispanic varieties of Spanish (see for instance chapter 7 by David Korfhagen, Rajiv Rao, & Sandro Sessarego).

This edited volume comprises three sections, each focusing on different aspects of variation. The first section includes chapters devoted to the intentionality and choice associated with variability, often stemming from interlocutors’ positionality in society. The second section focuses on the perception of linguistic choices by the receiving parties, with authors focusing on the implications of variability in language use at the local level. The final section is devoted to language policy in practice in different settings, offering chapters that explore the different roles that language ideology plays in establishing language structures in the realms of business and education.

This volume is a collection of meaningful scholarship that considers the ramifications of variability at different cultural and organizational levels of society and via different mediums of communication. The sociocultural issues presented in the volume represent diverse segments of the Latin American Spanish-speaking population. For example, Alonzo (11) considers variability in oral communication as a demonstration of power at baseball practices in Nicaragua, while Cipria (207) considers the role of variability in audiovisual contexts in Latin America and across the United States.

All chapters offer important insights into prevalent examples of variability across Latin American Spanish dialects, while also delving into the perception of this variability, and most significantly, the implications of variability for individuals living, learning, and working within institutions that use language variability to form and reform everyday policies and practices. Language ideologies in these instances play a crucial role, given that ‘[they] are perceived as natural’ and ‘they tend to be considered as unquestionable truths’ (228). These ideologies stem from periods of early contact. Whitney Chappell reminds us of the importance of considering the nature of colonial contact (185). In particular, he brings into focus the Miskitu indigenous peoples of Nicaragua, who resisted the adoption of Spanish for many years in favour of their Miskitu language. The delayed adoption of Spanish brought about a Coastal variety that now differs from Western Nicaraguan Spanish.

The perspectives presented in this volume are fundamental to researchers interested in understanding how contact linguistics in postcolonial Latin American states contributed to phonological and phonetic variability. The authors’ studies effectively illustrate how this variability now plays a significant role in contributing to the language attitudes and perceptions toward indigenous and emergent minoritized speech communities that exist across Latin America today.