The Haitian Creole Language is the first book dealing with the central role of Creole in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora, especially in the United States. Dispelling myths about Creole, with discussions of Haitian and Haitian Creole history, it provides a foundation for educators, service providers, policy makers, social scientists, and language and literature scholars to understand Creole in its historical, social, political, educational, and economic developmental contexts.

Sociolinguistics is the study of the interaction between language and society. In this classic introductory work, Janet Holmes examines the role of language in a variety of social contexts, considering both how language works and how it can be used to signal and interpret various aspects of social identity. Written with Holmes' customary enthusiasm, the book is divided into three sections which explain basic sociolinguistic concepts in the light of classic approaches as well as introducing more recent research. This fourth edition has been revised and updated throughout using key concepts and examples to guide the reader through this fascinating area, including: - New sections on: koines and koineisation linguistic landscapes New Englishes Stylisation language and sexuality societal approaches to attitude research forensic linguistics - A new selection of informative examples, exercises and maps -Fully updated further reading and references sections An Introduction to Sociolinguistics is an essential introductory text for all students of sociolinguistics and a splendid point of reference for students of applied linguistics. It is also an accessible guide for those who are simply interested in language and the many and varied uses we put it to.

Today, the notion of 'diglossia' occupies a prominent place in sociolinguistic research. Since the 1960s, when the dominant sense of 'diglossia' was the complementary sociofunctional distribution of two varieties of the same language, the term has been applied — often controversially — to a growing number of diverse sociolinguistic situations. As a consequence of this extension of the scope of the concept, in combination with an increasing interest in the relationship between the role of language and the social structure, the number of publications in this field has risen exponentially over the last decades. However, despite the growing importance of the notion, up till now there was no adequate bibliography devoted to diglossia, while coverage in other bibliographies does not do justice to the number of works actually published in this area. This first comprehensive bibliography of the subject includes almost 3,000 entries; although the time span covered is 1960-1990, the book includes several dozens of entries from before 1960 and also a substantial number of very recent publications from the period 1990-1992. The selection of items has not been restricted to a specific definition of diglossia: all available publications in which the term (or one of its offsprings) appears have been included; moreover, when considered appropriate, some material relevant to the subject has been added even though the term is not explicitly used. The usefulness of the bibliography has been enhanced significantly by six indexes: (1) index of languages, (2) diglossia in literature, (3) historically oriented works, (4) pedagogically oriented works, (5) theoretical works, and (6) theses and dissertations.

Haitian Creole (HC) is spoken by approximately 11,000,000 persons in Haiti and in diaspora communities in the United States and throughout the Caribbean. Thus, it is of great utility to Anglophone professionals engaged in various activities—medical, social, educational, welfare— in these regions. As the most widely spoken and best described creole language, a knowledge of its vocabulary is of interest and utility to scholars in a variety of disciplines. The English-Haitian Creole Bilingual Dictionary (EHCBD) aims to assist anglophone users in constructing written and oral discourse in HC; it also will aid HC speakers to translate from English to their language. As the most elaborate and extensive linguistic tool available, it contains about 30 000 individual entries, many of which have multiple senses and include subentries, multiword phrases or idioms. The distinguishing feature of the EHCBD is the inclusion of translated sentence-length illustrative examples that provide important information on usage.

This volume presents a collection of new articles by sixteen specialists in the field of pidgin and creole studies, assembled in honor of the world-renowned creolist, Albert Valdman. The articles, written from a variety of theoretical perspectives, are organized thematically in three sections: on the history of specific pidgins or creoles (including Louisiana Creole and Haitian Creole); on the sociohistorical settings that gave rise to these contact languages and issues affecting their future development; and on issues of linguistic variation and change. In keeping with Valdman’s own primary interests, the French-based creoles receive the most attention, including both those of the Atlantic zone and those of the Indian Ocean, but the volume also presents significant scholarship on English- and Portuguese-based varieties.