ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the relevance of ethnicity and social networks in accounting for people's speech patterns, as well as introduces a related concept, the community of practice. Where a choice of language is available for communication, it is often possible for an individual to signal their ethnicity by the language they choose to use. Social networks move the focus from social features of the speaker alone, such as status, gender, age and ethnicity, to characteristics of the interaction between people. Different aspects of an individual's social identity will be more or less relevant in specific social contexts, and even at different points within the same interaction. However, the term 'new Englishes' is most often used to describe varieties which have developed in post-colonial societies where the colonial powers have been displaced, but the legacy of English remains. Communities of practice develop around the activities which group members engage in together, and their shared goals and attitudes.
