Rajend Mesthrie is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics and Senior Research Scholar at the University of Cape Town. He was Head of the Linguistics Section (1998 - 2009), and holder of an NRF research chair in migration, language, and social change. He was President of the Linguistics Society of Southern Africa (2002-2009) and President of the International Congress of Linguists (2013-2018). He is an elected honorary life member of SALALS (South African Linguistic and Applied Linguistics Society) and the LSA (Linguistic Society of America). He is a past co-editor of English Today (2008-2012). Amongst his book publications are Language in Indenture: a Sociolinguistic history of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa (1992, reprinted. 2019), Introducing Sociolinguistics (with Swann, Deumert & Leap, Edinburgh University Press 2009), Language in South Africa (ed., 2002) and Youth Language Practices & Urban Language Contact in Africa (ed., with Hurst-Harosh & Brookes, 2021). Joan Swann is a Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Language and Communication in the School of Education at the Open University, UK.