ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the relevance of sociophonetics to the field of speech-language pathology (SLP). Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have a wide scope of practice but, in general, they work with clients who have difficulties with speech, language, and/or swallowing. There are a number of different principles related to SLP training and practice, such as the functional impact of an individual’s speech sound disorder and the typically high caseload sizes for practicing SLPs, that limit how much they can attend to sociophonetic concerns. However, many SLP areas of practice benefit from SLPs having an understanding of sociophonetics and how an individual’s speech is influenced by different aspects of their identity. A competent SLP uses this knowledge to determine how and whether or not to provide services.
