As the field of sociolinguistics has emerged, its terminology, which like many other emerging disciplines contains many neologisms and new usages, has sometimes been called insensitive. This reaction may interfere with serious examination of the field's content. Areas of disagreement or dispute include terms used for the speech of black populations (Negro speech, Black English, and variants), terms used to refer to normative speech (standard and non-standard), terms used for techniques of teaching oral English (technique-oriented, language-oriented, and issue-oriented, and bidialectalism and biloquialism), and other miscellaneous terms (e.g., linguistics vs. sociolinguistics, informants, populations, and subjects, disadvantaged and speech deficit). Because the terms are closer to the real and recognizable social issues of the era, they create more controversy than more abstract terminology in some other disciplines. As such, interpretation of terminology can interfere with finding solutions to problems. Moderation and understanding is the only reasonable approach to terminology in the study of language in society. (MSE)