The Sociolinguistics Reader presents a state-of-the-art account of the discipline in the closing years of the twentieth century.

Volume 2: Gender and Discourse in the first section looks at patterns of language variation, examining how gender identities are accomplished through language, and the importance of gender in accounting for language behaviour. Section II, meanwhile, examines the sociolinguistic issues surrounding discourse, with reference to the communication of affective meaning, conversational routines, grammaticalisation and language change, intertextuality, cross-cultural discourse patterns and their social implications.