Investigating Language Attitudes: Social Meanings of Dialect, Ethnicity and Performance

Review “This is valuable reading for those interested in the area of language attitudes and message effects - and is the first book-length treatment of the former for many years. Its ultimate focus is on the authors’ own research on adolescents’ and teachers’ attitudes towards varieties of Welsh-English and is premised on the fact that most previous studies have embraced one or another method only; theirs is, laudably, multi-method.” –Southern Journal of Communication ― Southern Journal of Communication“The strength of Garrett, Coupland and Williams’ book is that it transcends the limitations of the method and the data through the shrewdness of their comments and their willingness to explore so many facets of their results. It will be very useful to anyone interested in investing language attitudes, and I recommend it strongly.” –Journal of Sociolinguistics ― Journal of Sociolinguistics“This is an interesting book reporting on important, wide-ranging research, which illuminates the situation in a country of considerable sociolinguistic relevance, Wales, and raises thought-provoking issues in relation to methodology . . . a worthwhile, enlightening and enjoyable read.” –Language Awareness ― Language Awareness“This is a well-documented and critical work, written by practitioners in the long-established research area of language attitudes, and it will be of great interest to a wide multidisciplinary range of readers in the fields of sociolinguistics, the social psychology of language, the sociology of language and education.” –Language in Society ― Language in Society“This is a well structured, carefully presented and significant book that is a fine addition to the long tradition of language attitude research. ‘The book illustrates high-quality research preceded by a most comprehensive, balanced and thoughtful introduction to the study of language attitudes.” –International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism ― International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism Product Description "Presented in this book is a systematic and critical reappraisal of the methods used in language attitudes research as well as a detailed analysis of the relative positions of the English and Welsh languages in Wales and the sociolinguistic environment in which they function. Argued is the notion that the varieties of English in Wales need to be treated as distinct rather than coalesced into a broad category of bland Welsh English, not only in terms of descriptive dialect differences, but also as the basis of their distinctive social meanings. In addition to discussing different ways of expressing attitudes, from teenagers' and teachers' attitudes to regional and subcultural variation in attitudes, the book also considers issues such as degrees of authentic Welshness and the impact of rapid social change in Wales." From the Publisher Investigating Language Attitudes is a systematic and critical appraisal of the variety of ways in which people's attitudes to language have been researched internationally over recent decades. The authors explain this complex field through clear reviews and commentary on previous work, while also offering a demonstration of language attitude research in one specific and important context, the English language in Wales. In addition to discussing different ways of expressing attitudes, from teenagers' and teachers' attitudes to regional and subcultural variation in attitudes, the book also considers issues such as degrees of authentic Welshness, the impact of rapid social change in Wales. The methodological and empirical issues considered in Investigating Language Attitudes will be of particular interest to all lecturers, researchers, and students in the fields of sociolinguistics, the social psychology of language, the sociology of language, and education. For those with a particular interest in Wales, the findings from the series of empirical studies present a barometer of lif