ABSTRACT
Chapter 9 examines variation in language and the social meanings ascribed to it. Beginning with regional variation, this chapter then examines social variation (sociolects and ethnolects), focusing on Hispanic English and Native American English, with discussions of Mock Spanish and Rez English and their social meanings, along with code switching and translanguaging. Also examined is standardization, the process whereby certain varieties in modern nation states come to be valued while other varieties are devalued. Finally, the chapter looks at critical sociolinguistics, a subfield that studies the ideologies that underlie and resist the pattern of valuing and devaluing varieties, which in turn supports social inequalities. Throughout the chapter, the consequences of common attitudes about linguistic diversity and specific varieties are examined, thereby locating the discussion within larger systems of difference and inequality.
