The second edition of this textbook has been thoroughly revised to include discussion of developments in sociolinguistics since the mid-1980s, referring in the process to some 100 recent books and papers. The book provides a comprehensive coverage of most of the topics dealt with in courses described as either sociolinguistics or the sociology of language. Ronald Wardhaugh examines in full - dialect, language variation, pidgin and Creole languages, language change, ethnography, language and gender, and social codes. He gives a useful analysis of statistical methodology and a comprehensive introduction to the central topics of sociolinguistics. Each topic dealt with concludes with questions for discussion in the classroom, and references for further reading.