Situating sociolinguistics: Coupland –Theoretical Debates

I attended a conference recently in a small town in the US, and after the sessions one evening a group of us went out for a meal at a local microbrewery.The place was crowded, with people sitting either at long communal tables in a makeshift hangar or in small groups around the large fire pit outside.I was standing chatting with a group of five or six fellow linguists, when a man came over from a nearby group and, in a friendly American way, asked us if we were from the local area.As we were explaining that we were only in town for a sociolinguistics conference, it became clear that we would soon have to answer "that question".And, sure enough, the man immediately asked "What is sociolinguistics exactly?"The linguists in the group all glanced at each other for a moment, as if summoning the courage to reply.One of us (not me) then said, "I'll take it," before turning back to the man and starting to explain what it is that we all do.