The second volume in the Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics series, this collection of essays addresses each of the traditional periods of English, acknowledging the effect of external social context on determining the direction of changes within the language's syntax, phonology, and lexicon. Topics covered include the social status and uses of English, the relationship between English and co-existent languages, the relationship between varieties of spoken and written language, language as a political and socioeconomic instrument, and attitudes towards varieties of English. A broad introduction to sociolinguistics, this text also provides students of linguistics and the English language with an important revision of the traditional approaches to the history of language.