ABSTRACT
This chapter explores only a very small range of examples, specifically in the fields of educational linguistics and forensic linguistics, where the implications and applications of sociolinguistic study may be beneficial in the wider community. It discusses the issues as one example of applied sociolinguistics, demonstrates the implications of sociolinguistic research in the 'real world'. People's attitudes to Swedish and Danish reflected Scandinavian politics rather than any intrinsic linguistic features of the language. People develop attitudes towards languages which indicate their views about those who speak the languages, and the contexts and functions with which they are associated. The standard variety in a community has overt prestige. Standard English has an enormous legacy of overt prestige. Vernacular forms express the friendliness and relaxed attitudes appropriate in casual contexts. Claims about the educational disadvantages of some varieties indicate attitudes to the users and functions of those varieties in context, rather than any intrinsic features of the varieties.
