"I'm sitting here in Newfoundland, in Canada, writing a book about sociolinguistics, and you're out there somewhere, starting to read it. If you were here and could hear me talk -- especially if you were Canadian, especially if you had some training -- you could tell a lot about me. When I speak English, most people can tell I'm North American (I pronounce schedule with a [sk] sound), Canadian (I rhyme shone with gone, not bone), and probably from Quebec (I keep my socks in a bureau). And if I was wherever you are, I could probably tell a lot about your speech community and where you fit into it. The fact that we can do this is one of the things that interest sociolinguists..."

It's rare to encounter a textbook that one will want to read cover to cover. But Gerard van Herk has written exactly that, introducing students to the field of sociolinguistics as the best teachers do: with excitement, humor, and deep knowledge. "What is Sociolinguistics?" is a tour through the major issues that define the field, such as region, status, gender, time, language attitudes, interaction, and style, while also exploring the sociolinguistics of multilingualism, culture and ethnicity, language contact, and education. The chapters contains useful and clear features including: Numerous innovative exercises; Spotlighted research, where the author introduces some key concepts discussed in foundational research and offers suggestions for reading the primary literature; Further readings, glossary terms, chapter summaries, and text boxes that explore introduced concepts in greater depth for interested students; and "The Companion Website for Instructors" has PowerPoint slides for each chapter with suggestions for framing class discussions and exercises, further examples on concepts discussed in the book, tips on additional readings to bring in, and ready-to-go slides for class presentation. "The Companion Website for Students" includes links for every chapter from standard sociolinguistic tools to links designed to spark discussion relevant to each chapter, including video clips, oral histories, articles, and more.