This two-volume text presents a state-of-the-art account of the discipline in the closing years of the twentieth century. The books chart the liveliest areas in contemporary sociolinguistics: variation, multilingualism, gender, and discourse and include helpful introductions and other aids to the student and specialist. Volume 1 explores the macro-social aspects of sociolinguistics, covering cross-cultural communication problems, the linguistic behavior of bilingual speakers, language contact, the social psychology of language, variation, and the mystery of linguistic change. Volume 2 looks first at patterns of language variation, how gender identities are accomplished through language, and the importance of gender in accounting for language behavior. It goes on to examine sociolinguistic issues surrounding discourse, with reference to the communication of affective meaning, conversational routines, grammaticalization and language change, intertextuality, and cross-cultural discourse patterns and their social implications.