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Giving voice: A personal essay on the shape of sociolinguistics
Author(s) -
Bell Allan
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of sociolinguistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1467-9841
pISSN - 1360-6441
DOI - 10.1111/josl.12268
Subject(s) - sociolinguistics , tribute , sociology , closing (real estate) , style (visual arts) , field (mathematics) , linguistics , media studies , history , literature , philosophy , art , art history , political science , law , mathematics , pure mathematics
From the vantage point of 21 years editing the Journal of Sociolinguistics , I survey and assess the shape of our field. I identify six strands or trends that I see in play over that time: language and society, social theorization, the centralization of style, diversification, new orthodoxies and a sense of history. I advocate in particular for a sociolinguistics of voice, especially so the voices that are unheard or muffled in society may be given an audience. In closing I pay tribute to the exceptional colleagues with whom I have worked on the Journal over these years.