Language, Media and Society - by Anthea Irwin-Turner (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is all about students. It may seem obvious to say that of a textbook. However, along with having (mostly) students as its audience, the book has students - my students - at its heart as well. The finished product is a milestone on a journey through two decades of teaching students who were new to the ideas in the book. Many of my students have played a part in what the book has become, and a few of their voices are heard within it. The book arises out of a module I developed and currently teach. The way I explain concepts and outline analyses of language, media and society - and, perhaps more importantly, the ways in which I encourage you, my readers, to arrive at your own explanations of concepts and your own analyses of language, media and society - comes from experiences in my classes. Joyful experiences where things work and students 'get it', and not so joyful experiences where students don't quite get it, or feel less confident than I want them to feel with the topic, which push me to reflect on what to do differently next time. I was just delighted, therefore, when one of the peer reviewers of the book wrote that 'the lived classroom really feels like it has come into this book'; that sums up what I was trying to achieve. The topics covered in this book, and the relationship between them, are things that we all know something about, and that we all care about. In some of the topics, you will have more lived experience and reflection to bring to it than I do. For those reasons, I've included tasks and reflections that I hope will help you recognise what you already know or appreciate, and enable you to take your own unique journey through the ideas in the book. I have purposefully written the book in a relatively conversational style. There are limits to that when one is writing a book, of course; indeed, that delicate dance between context and appropriateness of style is something that I write about in the book. However, I have always thought that having that big theoretical idea or hugely insightful analysis only gets a researcher or educator half way to where they want or need to be; the job is only fully done, in my opinion, when we have communicated the theory or analysis in language that anyone who cares to listen can understand"--

Book Synopsis

An ideal introduction to the analysis of language as a central element of everyday interactions and media, helping students reflect critically on the ways individuals and the creators of media use language to reflect and construct social identities

Why do we encounter different types of language in different places, from different people, and in different types of media? What assumptions do we make about each other when we interact, and what assumptions do media creators make about us when they design the media we see and hear? When does the language used in society and by media lead to social change and when does it serve to reinforce existing power structures and class divisions? In Language, Media and Society, students learn how to notice the features of the language used in the interactions they have and the media they encounter everyday and to understand the relationships between language, media, and the wider world around them. Assuming no prior knowledge of sociolinguistic analysis, this student-friendly textbook is a perfect introduction to the intersections between language and its social contexts.

Written in a student-friendly, conversational tone, Language, Media and Society first answers some fundamental questions about what we mean when we talk about language, about media, and about society in the contexts of applied linguistics. The book then addresses the many different ways that language and media construct and reflect aspects of identity such as age, gender, sexuality, class, and disability. Students will find useful examples throughout from the types of interactions they have every day and from the media they encounter every day and will be invited to begin their own investigations into the functions of language in everyday life and in media of all types. This valuable textbook:

• Is suitable for use in courses on language and media, sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, communications, media studies, and sociology
• Encourages students to reflect upon the language that is used in everyday life and in the media they see and hear and to consider how this language influences and is influenced by society
• Features in-chapter tasks, end-of-chapter review questions, guided reflections, and resources for students and instructors
• Employs an engaging, conversational tone and makes underlying theory accessible

Language, Media and Society is an ideal introductory textbook for undergraduate courses on sociolinguistics, language and media, sociology and communication, and media studies.

From the Back Cover

Why do we encounter different types of language in different places, from different people, and in different types of media? What assumptions do we make about each other when we interact, and what assumptions do media creators make about us when they design the media we see and hear? When does the language used in society and by media lead to social change and when does it serve to reinforce existing power structures and class divisions? In Language, Media and Society, students learn how to notice the features of the language used in the interactions they have and the media they encounter every day and to understand the relationships between language, media, and the wider world around them. Assuming no prior knowledge of sociolinguistic analysis, this student-friendly textbook is a perfect introduction to the intersections between language and its social contexts.

Written in an accessible, conversational tone, Language, Media and Society first answers some fundamental questions about what we mean when we talk about language, about media, and about society in the contexts of applied linguistics. The book then addresses the many different ways that language and media construct and reflect aspects of identity such as age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, class, and disability. Students will find useful examples throughout from the types of interactions they have every day and from the media they encounter every day and will be invited to begin their own investigations into the functions of language in everyday life and in media of all types. This valuable textbook features in-chapter tasks, end-of-chapter checklists, guided reflections, and resources for students and instructors.

Language, Media and Society is an ideal introductory textbook for undergraduate courses on sociolinguistics, language and media, sociology, communication, and media studies.

About the Author

ANTHEA IRWIN-TURNER is a Lecturer in Communication at Ulster University, UK. She applies her main research interest of power and identity in (media) discourse to a range of fields including adolescent interaction, and media constructions of young people, asylum seekers, poverty, minority languages, and political events. She has published chapters in edited volumes, papers in such journals as Language in Society, and reports for third sector organisations across these subject areas.