ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a snapshot of research on sociolinguistics in Northern Africa. It concentrates on three sociolinguistic variables: gender, urbanisation and the symbolic function of language in this region. The chapter argues that it is important to de-essentialise concepts of language and society in order to apply it to North Africa, especially in studies that correlate linguistic variation with independent factors. The language used for communication can serve as one of the symbolic means of modifying a status. The linguists studying language and gender need to expand their horizons and include more studies that examine gender in relation to code-switching. The chapter investigates that quantitative sociolinguistic research in North Africa treat gender, and to examine variation between males and females; categories such as social class; ethnicity and gender can be used to account for variation within a community. 'Gender practices are not only about establishing identities but also about managing social relations'.
