Sociolinguist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An individual specializing in the analysis of language as it relates to social structures and the influences of culture on speech variations and communication methods
2. A scholar examining how societal factors shape language usage, exploring dialectical differences and the interplay between culture and communication styles
3. A specialist who studies the relationship between language and social contexts including cultural influences on communication

Etymology: "Sociolinguist" is a back-formation: the word "sociolinguistics" came first, and "sociolinguist" was later carved out of it by dropping the ending, the way "editor" is sometimes derived from "edit." The field name is the older of the two, built from "socio-", a combining form from Latin "socius" meaning "companion" or "ally," and "linguistics," the study of language. Speakers were therefore naming the discipline before they had a word for the person practising it. The result is a term that describes a researcher who looks at language as a social phenomenon, asking how accent, dialect, gender, class, region and setting shape the way people speak and understand one another. The person came to be named from the subject rather than the other way round, which is why the noun sounds like a modern trade title with the "-ist" ending attached to a field.

Synonyms: linguist, sociologist