Glyn Williams Bücher

This is a detailed political review of the three centuries of modern British history from the Glorious Revolution to Margaret Thatcher. The vast mass of scholarly research that continues to appear on these years has made an up-to-date study of this sort -- which combines synthesis and analysis in a single account -- a timely undertaking. This is an avowedly political history, with as much economic and social content as is needed to understand the context in which Britain's political life evolved.

The book explores the intricate relationship between language and society by integrating sociological theory with linguistic study. It traces historical developments from Enlightenment philosophers to contemporary sociolinguistics, examining how various sociological frameworks, including Marxism and poststructuralism, shape our understanding of language. By analyzing these connections, it highlights the influence of theory on the construction of meaning and offers insights into future directions for sociolinguistics. This comprehensive work is essential for students and scholars in linguistics, sociology, and geography.

Originally published in 1992. This provocative and controversial book calls for a critical analysis of the philosophical assumptions underpinning sociolinguistics. Going back to the philosophical roots of the study of language in society, it argues that they lie in the consensual attitude to society derived from eighteenth and nineteenth-century social thought. The leading figures in the field are challenged for their unequivocal acceptance of the sociological theory on which they draw. For researchers of language in society, this book emphasises the sociological rather than the linguistic side of the subject.