ABSTRACT
Chapters 2 and 3 distinguished approaches to the description and analysis of language that emphasise linguistic form, and approaches that seek to take into account the social context in which language is produced and interpreted. This chapter focuses on English (and language in more general terms) as a social phenomenon, although the approaches considered and their specific objects of enquiry are rather different from those in earlier chapters. The present chapter is concerned with processes of variation, diversity and change in English: how English varies regionally, and socially, and amongst the same speakers from one situation to another; how speakers may use such variability strategically to particular communicative effect; how English is used alongside other languages in multilingual settings; the study of new varieties of English, and the status and role of English as a global language.
