The potential of sociolinguistic impact: Lessons from the first 50 years

Along with its focus on foundational research, one of the enduring concerns variationist sociolinguistics over past half-century has been a tradition application and engagement. As research paradigms have developed in variation studies, so traditions engagement issues social educational language equality. In formative era field, primary concern was which sociolinguists took strong, united stance as simply ‘different’ rather than ‘deficient’. This had strong impact assessment determining normalcy early child development beyond. period ‘proactive engagement’, aligned technological development, producing sociolinguistic audiovisual materials, physical digital museums, media, other venues for raising awareness consonant age digitisation. The current raciolinguistics examines more critical, systemic colonialism structural racism confronting ranging from significant under-representation minority scholars to inequality institutions higher learning where most reside. essay further addresses devaluation academic meritocracy, despite recent attempts legitimise engaged arguing that provides meaning personal gratification professional sociolinguist.