This edited volume brings together leading authors in the field of sociolinguistics who explore the sociolinguistic implications of spelling, punctuation and other graphic aspects of writing. Data is drawn from a wide range of languages and communicative contexts, ranging from schoolrooms to internet discussion boards. The focus is on the way that spelling as a practice and as a focus of ideological debate relates to social, political and cultural systems, both reflecting and sometimes creating identities as well as relationships of both equality and inequality.

Alexandra Jaffe, California State University Long Beach, USA; Jannis Androutsopoulos, University of Hamburg, Germany; Mark Sebba, Lancaster University, UK; Sally Johnson, University of Leeds, UK.