Graeme Trousdale's An introduction to English sociolinguistics does not give a comprehensive overview of the field of sociolinguistics and nor does it pretend to. Instead it draws upon selected sociolinguistic findings in order to say interesting things about English. This makes it different from many other introductory texts, more a book that one could read from cover to cover (in very few sittings) to gain an insight into sociolinguistic study, rather than a reference text. The style of writing is perfect for the intended audience (beginning undergraduates) in that it presents complex arguments in an accessible and engaging manner, drawing on interesting and varied examples, although students will likely need to have reference books to hand (for example, on grammar and phonology) to fully appreciate some of the examples. The book is well structured. Each chapter begins with an overview and ends with a summary, exercises and suggestions for further reading. Several recurring themes provide coherence to the text. One of these is the interrelationship between linguistic form and function. In each chapter, Trousdale highlights this important distinction, which will prepare the reader well for undertaking their own sociolinguistic analyses. Given this focus on how linguistic forms function in a range of different contexts, however, the absence of work within the framework of interactional sociolinguistics is rather conspicuous in this book (see e.g. Goffman Reference Goffman1981, Gumperz Reference Gumperz1982, Goodwin Reference Goodwin2006, Rampton Reference Rampton2006). Finally, this is an introduction to English sociolinguistics, but the focus is by no means restricted to England. Many of the examples extend beyond the British Isles (the globalisation of English is another theme that runs throughout the book).

Chapter 1, ‘What is “English”?’, takes the reader back to first principles – Is English a language? – and asks that they question common-sense assumptions (for example, that it is possible to talk about ‘English’ ‘as if it were some sort of unified, identifiable whole’ (4)). The chapter introduces important terminology and key concepts such as Standard English, native speaker and language ideology in an accessible way, highlighting how such concepts will become the focus of later chapters (for example, when exploring topics such as language planning, issues of correct usage, and the notion of community). This introductory chapter also tackles questions common to introductory courses in sociolinguistics (for example, what is the difference between a language and a dialect?). Particularly useful for students is the way in which Trousdale answers these questions by taking the reader through a step-by-step exploratory process. For example, in approaching the thorny issue of how to distinguish between the terms ‘language’ and ‘dialect’, Trousdale first probes dictionary definitions, problematising certain aspects of their implied meaning and raising further questions; he thus educates the student reader not only in content (language or dialect?) but also in methods of enquiry.

Having considered how linguistic varieties are categorised, Chapter 2, ‘Communities, networks and individuals’, turns to categorising speakers. In such a short chapter, one would think it impossible to do justice to the range of concepts involved – speech community, social network and community of practice – but the description of each turns out to be surprisingly lucid, and the discussion of social networks, in particular, is very useful. A minor criticism of the chapter is that references to Labov's findings on style and social class may not fully be understood by the reader at this stage (though the dress analogy – how likely is it that certain speakers will wear a suit and tie in certain situations – is very helpful). This will always be a problem with introductory texts: topics are so interrelated that it is almost impossible to talk about one without referring to others, which come later in the book (and with which the reader may thus not be familiar). Also, because sociolinguistic terminology is introduced in such a wonderfully non-threatening manner, there is perhaps the risk that key terms might pass unnoticed by the reader (as, for example, could easily happen with the distinction between overt and covert prestige (20)). A typographic convention marking newly-introduced or key terms would enhance the presentational aspect of the book and support student learning.

Chapter 3, ‘English and language planning’, considers the role of English in language planning, from the decision made by an English local government council to remove all apostrophes from their street signs (a decision contested by the Apostrophe Preservation Society) to situations in which governments make decisions about the official language of a country. The chapter moves from an outline of general issues in language planning – the differences between status, corpus, prestige and acquisition planning (and the interrelationships between them) – to specific case studies which illustrate these processes. The first follows the trajectory of English from the fifteenth century through a series of interventions which gave rise to what we now call Standard English and recognise as an international language. The others highlight the role of English in language planning in Kenya, Sri Lanka and the European Union, giving due consideration to the social and political factors involved. The chapter ends with reflection on the wider issues associated with the globalisation of English (a theme which runs throughout the book).

Chapter 4, ‘Regional and social variation’, begins with a brief review of traditional dialectology before moving onto the main focus of the chapter, variationist sociolinguistics. The chapter introduces the linguistic variable, which is defined as ‘a network of related linguistic forms, or variants’ (46), a rather difficult concept for those new to the field (and this is where visual representations would have helped). Trousdale pauses to consider why this concept is so important in sociolinguistics, and gives illustrative examples, but this section covers a lot of material in relatively few words, leaving some issues in need of further investigation by the reader. Next comes an example of quantitative variation based on data collected in Yorkshire. The variable in question is the omission of initial /h/ (this variable was used in earlier examples, thus lending coherence to the chapter) and Trousdale clearly articulates what we can interpret from the data (for example, social class stratification), and importantly, what the data does not show (for example, individual linguistic behaviour), warning that all data sets should be treated with caution. The next section takes the reader on a whistle-stop tour of the three main approaches to style in variationist sociolinguistics (attention paid to speech, audience design, and speaker design), which map broadly onto Penny Eckert's ‘three waves’ of sociolinguistic study (the topic of the next section). Again, space constraints mean that the detail behind these topics is somewhat lacking.

Chapter 5 deals with processes of linguistic ‘Change in English’. It opens with an excellent illustration of diachronic variation using recipes from Middle English, Early Modern English and present-day English. This helps the reader to adjust to seeing rather unfamiliar forms of English (which will be introduced more fully in Chapter 6), and highlights just how much English has changed over time. There is an excellent explanation of the key issues involved in the study of language change: the apparent time hypothesis, real time data and age-grading. Trousdale then uses the previously introduced first-, second- and third-wave distinction to explore how social factors (such as gender) are implicated in language change. This is a useful framework within which to summarise some complex arguments. Again, on occasions visual representations would have helped (for example, to describe the ‘cross-over effect’). Also a quick gloss of some of the new terminology that crops up, like ‘inner-circle English’, would have been useful (or a cross-reference might have been given to where this is taken up again in Chapter 7). The chapter ends with a consideration of language change outside of the urban West: in Huntley, north-eastern Scotland, and Tristan da Cunha, in the south Atlantic Ocean (Belfast and Detroit being the case studies used in the previous section).

Chapter 6, ‘English historical sociolinguistics’, discusses how modern sociolinguistic methodology can be used (with modifications) to explore historical data. This topic is rarely covered in introductory sociolinguistic texts, but it fits here very neatly. Trousdale makes links with concepts that came up in previous chapters (for example, change from above, the standardisation and globalisation of English) and those that will be explored in later chapters (for example, dialect levelling), thus firmly situating historical data within sociolinguistic study. The chapter ends by looking ahead: what might happen to English in the future, based on what we know of the past?

Chapters 7 and 8 focus on a special kind of language change, one that results from contact between varieties. Chapter 7, ‘Language contact’, reviews the processes involved in the formation of pidgin and creole varieties, focusing especially on the role of English. The discussion highlights the formal characteristics of these varieties as well as their functional load, and exposes the fuzziness of the distinction between ‘pidgin’ and ‘creole’ (reminiscent of the discussion of ‘dialect’ and ‘language’ in Chapter 1). The relationship between form and function becomes even more salient in the discussion of another phenomenon related to language contact, code-switching, where a switch from one variety to the next can index interactional function or an aspect of social identity (or both). The chapter ends with a discussion of the role of English in language shift, as a lingua franca, and in the emergence of ‘new Englishes’, picking up on themes introduced elsewhere in the book (like globalisation, standardisation and identity).

Chapter 8, ‘Dialect contact’, opens with the hypothesis that if the boundaries between language and dialects are social rather than linguistic (as argued in the opening chapter), we might expect to see similar linguistic patterns emerging in situations of dialect contact as were illustrated for language contact. There is a discussion of dialect contact in general terms before specific case studies are used to open up debate on the role of social factors (especially social networks) in the formation of new dialects. Unfortunately the chapter summary does not come back to the opening question of whether the general principles are the same in dialect and language contact, which I think would have been helpful for the reader (though Trousdale does very briefly return to this question in Chapter 9).

Chapter 9, ‘Sociolinguistics and linguistic theory’, aims to situate sociolinguistics within linguistic theory more generally. It brings together findings from previous chapters in order to explore the relationship between language use and the mental grammar. This is a very ambitious undertaking. The notion of the linguistic variable is reintroduced, but complicated with a discussion of syntactic variables (for which the equivalence condition becomes problematic). There is then a review of syntactic modelling, where lots of new terminology/theories are introduced (I-language/E-language/S-language, modular/usage-based models). This chapter will almost certainly present a challenge to students not already familiar with these theories.

The book ends with a brief ‘Conclusion’, which reiterates some of the key themes – the interplay of linguistic form and function, the relationship between present-day English and the English of the past, and between English in the United Kingdom and beyond – and urges readers to transfer what they have gained from this book (a framework for analysing English in its social context) to further study.

There is much to recommend about this text. It is a well-written introduction to the field that I would encourage all of my first year undergraduates to read, and would recommend as summer pre-reading for uninitiated Masters students taking courses in linguistics which have a sociolinguistic component. A key strength of the book is the way it puts English within its wider historical and global context. Another advantage is the way that analytical and interpretative processes are opened up to the reader, thus helping them to develop a framework for language study. For a relatively short text it covers a wide range of topics, but I think it could have been improved (and would have given students a more balanced overview of the field) if it had included some discussion of research within interactional sociolinguistics. Space constraints (which restrict the level of detail that can be given, and may have prevented the use of visual aids) mean that some chapters raise more questions than they can answer. So while introductory, this book is in places challenging, and is possibly a more enjoyable read for those who already have some knowledge of the basics. Raising questions is of course no bad thing – this book certainly whets the appetite for further study.