“The recent emphasis on impact and public engagement by funding bodies and academic institutions has given new prominence to this aspect of research, which has always been a key concern of sociolinguists. This very timely collection provides an illuminating account of the rise of the impact agenda, along with inspirational accounts of the ways in which sociolinguists can ‘give back’ to and have impact on the communities with which they work.”
Joan C. Beal, University of Sheffield, UK

“This volume is about sociolinguistics proudly reclaiming its heritage: our field always been committed to the wider social world and to the everyday uses (aka applications) of language. Notwithstanding, we have here an array of role-model studies seeking public relevance and impact in very concrete, direct ways. This is sociolinguistics that’s often empowering, always engaging. The volume should be core reading for all students of language and society because it demonstrates clearly why their work matters and how they can make it matter even more. Without smugness and without selling out, Lawson and Sayers’ intervention proves two things: first, the ivory tower is a toxic fallacy; second, we are the real world, dammit!”
Crispin Thurlow, University of Bern, Switzerland

Robert Lawson is Senior Lecturer in the School of English at Birmingham City University, UK.

Dave Sayers is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Humanities at Sheffield Hallam University and Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, UK.