语言是人类最重要的思维与交际工具，也是人类各种文化的载体。由于语言是人类最重要的文化领域之一，语言与社会、文化之间的紧密联系因此成为人们关注的重要研究领域，并被称为社会语言学。作为对语言与社会文化的关系的一种跨学科研究，社会语言学涉及的领域极为广泛，与社会科学，尤其是社会学、人类学、社会心理学和教育学等学科有着密切的联系。在高等教育强调通识教育、重视提高学生文化素质的今天，为本科英语专业乃至其他专业的学生开设一门介绍语言与社会的课程十分必要。

《语言与社会》将首先对社会语言学的研究对象、研究范围和目标等方面进行概述并对全书的框架作简要介绍，进而从宏观的层面上考察社会与政治对语言使用的影响，譬如，从人们对语言的态度、标准语的形成和官方语言的选择等方面去论述语言与社会的关系；接着从语言变异方面重点观察各种社会因素是如何影响人们选择和使用特定的语言形式，如不同的区域和社会阶层方面的相关因素如何影响人们在不同社会语境中使用语言时的发音、句法和词语等方面的特征以及社会规范是怎样影响不同性别的话语模式和交际风格；在语言与交际的关系方面将进行微观层面的社会与语言分析，讨论特定的社交场合和不同的社会角色如何影响人们的言语交际行为，以及跨文化交际中的话语模式和语用等方面的问题；在语言与文化的关系方面侧重于微观层面的语言文化分析，例如通过在具体的社交情景和不同角色之间的言语交际去概括不同社会和文化的特定语言文化模式和语言价值观，探讨语言与文化的密切关系；最后，对社会语言学在宏观和微观方面的诸多因素对语言教学，尤其是对外语学习的影响进行归纳、总结。

前辅文
Unit 1 Language, Culture and Society — An Introduction to the Course
  Understanding Language as Communication
  The Study of Language and Society
  The Study of Language and Culture
  The Structure of This Course
Unit 2 Language and Dialect
  Understanding Language and Dialect
  The Complexity of Language vs. Dialect
  Intelligibility vs. Political Boundaries
  The Standard Dialect
  The Structural vs. the Functional Views
  Case Analysis:Dialectal Differences in Chinese
Unit 3 Language and Nation
  Understanding Language and Nation
  The National Language
  National vs. Offi cial Languages
  Offi cial vs. Working Languages
  Case Analysis:Language and Political Confl icts in the European Union
Unit 4 Bilingualism and Multilingualism
  Understanding Monolingualism vs. Bilingualism
  Prejudices Against Bilingualism and Language Diversity
  Positive Attitudes Favoring Linguistic Diversity
  Academic Models of Bilingualism
  Case Analysis:Discussing the Trilingual Situation in Hong Kong
Unit 5 World Englishes
  Understanding the Main Varieties of English
  British English
  American English
  Second Language Varieties of English
  Models of International English
  Case Analysis:Is There a Variety of “Chinese English?”
Unit 6 Language and Social Variation
  Understanding Language and Variation
  Language Variation and Social Attitude
  Language and Social Stratifi cation
  Language and Ethnicity
  Language and Identity
  Case Analysis:Language and Social Changes in China
Unit 7 Language and Gender
  Understanding Gender Differences in Language Use
  The Sociolinguistic Studies of Gender Pattern
  The Dominance Approach
  The Difference/Dual-culture Approach
  Alternative Strategies for Language Use in the US
  Case Analysis:Dangerous English
Unit 8 Language Style and Register
  Understanding Stylistic Variations of Language
  Language and Stylistic Variation
  Language and Occupation
  Halliday’s Theory of Register
  Case Analysis:The Language of Science and Language of Economics
Unit 9 Speech Acts
  Understanding the Concept of Speech Act
  Classifi cation of Speech Acts
  The Notion of Speech Act Set and Its Cross-cultural Studies
  Case Analysis:Different Cultures, Different Speech Act Sets
Unit 10 Language and Politeness
  Understanding Politeness in the Use of Language
  The Notion of Face and Politeness
  Face and Communication Strategies
  Politeness Strategies of Involvement and Independence
  Case Analysis:Cultural Differences in Expressing Sympathy
Unit 11 Language and Cultural Thought Patterns
  Understanding Different Cultural Patterns of Thought
  The Characteristics of Culture
  Language and Cultural Thought Patterns
  The Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
  The Intrinsic Relationship of Language and Culture
  Case Analysis:Cultural Understanding of Lexical Items
Unit 12 Language and Cultural Contexts
  Understanding the Differences of Cultural Contexts
  High vs. Low Cultural Context
  Individualistic vs. Collectivistic Cultural Context
  Case Analysis:Cultural Context and Discourse
Unit 13 Culture and Discourse Patterns
  Understanding Cultural Differences in Discourse
  Culture and Discourse
  Cultural Patterns of Discourse
  Chinese EFL Students’ Characteristic Paragraph and Essay Structure
  Case Analysis:How to Tell When Someone Is Saying“No?”
Unit 14 Learning Language as Communication
  Implications for Foreign Language Learning
  Important Features of Communication
  The Relationship Between Communication and Culture
  Dimensions of Communicative Differences Across Cultures
  Defi ning a Competent Communicator
  Implications for Language Teaching/Learning Practice
Suggested Readings for the Course
References

“十一五”国家规划教材