Edinburgh Sociolinguistics
Series Editors: Joan Swann and Paul Kerswill
Designed for newcomers to the field as well as postgraduates and academics with an interest in socially oriented approaches to language, this series covers the core topics in sociolinguistics. Volumes are discursive, accessibly written and offer both a critical overview and insights derived from the authors' own research. As a whole, the series provides a comprehensive introduction to sociolinguistics.
Sociolinguistics and Mobile Communication
By Ana Deumert
Have wireless, mobile communication technologies changed the way people interact with one another? What does it mean to be able to speak or write to anyone, anywhere, and get an immediate response? And what does the profusion of these technologies mean for the study of language in social life?
Raising important questions about the nature of language and the creativity of speakers, here Ana Deumert examines the role of multimodality and intertextuality in creating meaning, as well as the realities and consequences of digital linguistic inequality. Taking a global perspective, this textbook presents a nuanced, ethnographically-informed understanding of mobile communication and sociolinguistics, exploring a wide range of digital applications. These include, including: SMS, email, tweeting, Facebook, YouTube, chatting and Wikipedia. This fourth volume in the Edinburgh Sociolinguistics series:
. explains and illustrates core concepts in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology
. applies sociolinguistic theories of language (from Humboldt and Sapir to post-structuralism ) to new media
. focuses on linguistic creativity and poetic language
. offers a global and multilingual perspective on digital communication practices
. includes original case studies of African data
. explores digital inequality and its consequences for sociolinguistic research
Drawing on examples from across the world, as well as original multilingual data and analyses from South Africa, this innovative textbook provides undergraduate and postgraduate readers with accessible explanations of sociolinguistic theories as they apply to the growing field of mobile communication.
Ana Deumert is Associate Professor in Linguistics at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She has published extensively in the field of sociolinguistics, with a strong African and interdisciplinary focus.

Ana Deumert is Associate Professor in the Linguistics Section, Department of English, University of Cape Town.