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Sociolinguistic Theory presents a critical synthesis of sociolinguistics that centers on the study of language variation and change, and identifies opportunities for future research.Since the inception of sociolinguistics four decades ago, the correlation of dependent linguistic variables with independent social variables has provided the theoretical core of the discipline. This volume reviews the essential findings that form its foundation and shows how empirical explorations have made it the most stimulating field in the contemporary study of language.Sociolinguistic Theory discusses the linguistic variable and its significance, crucial social variables such as social stratification, sex and age, and the cultural purposes of linguistic variation. This second edition has been updated to incorporate new findings and expand on the discussion of communicative competence and developmental sociolinguistics.