The 2000 Georgetown University Round Table focused on “the
application of linguistics to … a full range of …
professions” (p. 3). It offered tracks on education, journalism,
law, medicine, technology, and other professions. The book reviewed
here presents highlights from that conference: six plenary speeches,
eight selected conference papers, and a closing discussion among
plenary speakers, conference organizers, and audience members. The
chapters are distributed fairly evenly across the range of professions
identified for the conference. The plenary speakers were Shirley Brice
Heath, John R. Rickford, Allan Bell, Roger W. Shuy, Richard M. Frankel,
and Lee Lubbers. James E. Alatis and Heidi Hamilton were the conference
chairs. In this review, I will not comment on each chapter of the book;
rather, I will highlight some themes and focus on articles I found
particularly relevant to them.