Sociolinguistics is the study of the effect of any and all aspects of society, including cultural norms, expectations, and context, on the way language is used. It also studies how dialect differ between groups separated by certain social variables, e.g., ethnicity, religion, status, gender, level of education, etc., and how creation and adherence to these rules is used to categorize individuals in social class or socio-economic classes. As the usage of a language varies from place to place (dialect), language usage varies among social classes, and it is these “sociolects” that sociolinguistics studies.
The study of language variation is concerned with social constraints determining language in its contextual environment. Code-switching is the term given to the use of different varieties of language in different social situations.
Sociolinguistics differs from “sociology of language” in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter's focus is on the language's effect on the society.
The study of language variation is concerned with social constraints determining language in its contextual environment. Code-switching is the term given to the use of different varieties of language in different social situations.
Sociolinguistics differs from “sociology of language” in that the focus of sociolinguistics is the effect of the society on the language, while the latter's focus is on the language's effect on the society.
