Sociolinguistics

Sociolinguistics is the branch of linguistics that studies language in use, including the principles a speaker uses to choose the appropriate language for each social context. Topics of study include:

• language and social class, language and social networks, language and age, language and gender, language and identity
• regional dialects 
• pidgin and creole languages
• code-switching between dialects or languages
• language styles—formal, informal, and specialized