1 Linguistics and sociolinguistics 1
2 A tapestry in space and time 16
3 Language varieties:processes and problems 46
4 Discovering the structure in variation 93
5 Rhoticity 133
6 At the intersection of social factors 176
7 Change,meaning and acts of identity 233
8 The discourse of social life 275
9 Communication:words and world 323
10 Action and critique 368
11 Language and social explanation 415
Further reading 457
References 467
Index 491