"This third edition of Miriam Meyerhoff's highly successful textbook is supported by The Routledge Sociolinguistics Reader, Doing Socioling uistics and online resources shared by all books. It provides a solid, up-to-date appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of the field co vering foundation issues, recent advances and current debates. It prese nts familiar or classic data in new ways, and supplements the familiar with fresh examples from a wide range of languages and social settings. It clearly explains the patterns and systems that underlie language va riation in use, as well as the ways in which alternations between diffe rent language varieties index personal style, social power and national identity. New features of the third edition: every chapter revised and updated with current research in the field, including material on sexu ality, polylanguaging, and lifespan change; additional Connections with theory and Facts: No really? throughout; revised and expanded data fro m signed languages, historical linguistics and Asia-Pacific sociolingui stics; brand new companion website featuring more examples and exercise s at www.routledge.com/textbooks/meyerhoff. Chapters include exercises that enable readers to engage critically with the text, break-out boxes making connections between sociolinguistics and linguistic or social t heory, and brief, lively add-ons guaranteed to make the book a memorabl e and enjoyable read. With a full glossary of terms and suggestions for further reading, this text gives students all the tools they need for an excellent command of sociolinguistics"-- Provided by publisher.