The origins of this book lie in Lesley Milroy’s Observing and Analysing Natural Language (OANL) which first appeared in 1987. While the general orientation of that work has been maintained, and some of its material has been reproduced here, the tremendous expansion of the field has necessitatedthat the original work be substantially revised and updated for the current project. A good deal of new material has also been included to treat issues that have since emerged as significant (see, for example, the discussions of instrumental techniques for analyzing phonological variation (section 6.3.2) and the treatment of style-shifting as a strategic maneuver (section 8.3) ).
The additional perspective provided by the co-author, Matthew Gordon, serves to distinguish further the current work from OANL.
The basic structure of the book partly follows that of OANL. Chapter 1 offers a theoretical introduction to the general framework of variationist sociolinguistics, and is followed in chapters 2 and 3 by a discussion of study design and methods of data collection. Chapters 4 and 5 explore issues related to the social dimensions of language variation, and chapters 6 and 7 focus on linguistic issues, discussing various aspects of data analysis and interpretation related to phonological variation, and grammatical variation.
Finally, style-switching and code-switching are examined in chapter 8.

Chock full of up-to-date coverage of countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, this fascinating reference—intended for use by government officials—should be on the shelf of every school, world traveler, and journalist. For each country, you’ll find: a thorough introduction with historical background; detailed geographical facts, including current environmental issues; and a full description of the people, with information on literacy rates, HIV prevalence, and major infectious diseases and much more!

Learning Language in Logic by James Cussens and Saso Dzeroski

Book Description
This book provides a self-contained introduction to Learning Language in Logic (LLL) and, at the same time, competently surveys the current state of the art of research in the area. The book has its origin in the first LLL workshop which took place in Bled, Slovenia in June 1999. Beyond revised workshop papers, a number of additional chapters were solicited from leading researchers in order to achieve complete coverage of all current aspects and to introduce the new area to a broader audience.
As the first book devoted to LLL, this thoroughly cross-reviewed state-of-the-art survey will become a valuable source of reference for researchers active in the area. Newcomers or professionals interested in advanced LLL applications will find this book an ideal guide to an exciting new field.