Language, Media and Society

An ideal introduction to the analysis of language as a central element of everyday interactions and media, helping students reflect critically on the ways individuals and the creators of media use language to reflect and construct social identities.

Why do we encounter different types of language in different places, from different people, and in different types of media? What assumptions do we make about each other when we interact, and what assumptions do media creators make about us when they design the media we see and hear? When does the language used in society and by media lead to social change and when does it serve to reinforce existing power structures and class divisions?

In Language, Media and Society, students learn how to notice the features of the language used in the interactions they have and the media they encounter every day, and to understand the relationships between language, media, and the wider world around them. Assuming no prior knowledge of sociolinguistic analysis, this student-friendly textbook is a perfect introduction to the intersections between language and its social contexts.

Written in a student-friendly, conversational tone, Language, Media and Society first answers some fundamental questions about what we mean when we talk about language, about media, and about society in the contexts of applied linguistics. The book then addresses the many different ways that language and media construct and reflect aspects of identity such as age, gender, sexuality, class, and disability.

Students will find useful examples throughout from the types of interactions they have every day and from the media they encounter every day, and will be invited to begin their own investigations into the functions of language in everyday life and in media of all types. This valuable textbook:

• Is suitable for use in courses on language and media, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, communications, media studies, and sociology.
• Encourages students to reflect upon the language that is used in everyday life and in the media they see and hear, and to consider how this language influences and is influenced by society.
• Features in-chapter tasks, end-of-chapter review questions, guided reflections, and resources for students and instructors.
• Employs an engaging, conversational tone and makes underlying theory accessible.

Language, Media and Society is an ideal introductory textbook for undergraduate courses on sociolinguistics, language and media, sociology and communication, and media studies.