Description
Book SynopsisA Companion to Linguistic Anthropology provides a series of in-depth explorations of key concepts and approaches by some of the scholars whose work constitutes the theoretical and methodological foundations of the contemporary study of language as culture.
- Provides a definitive overview of the field of linguistic anthropology, comprised of original contributions by leading scholars in the field
- Summarizes past and contemporary research across the field and is intended to spur students and scholars to pursue new paths in the coming decades
- Includes a comprehensive bibliography of over 2000 entries designed as a resource for anyone seeking a guide to the literature of linguistic anthropology
Trade Review“The essays … display a vigorous subdisciplinary repertoire with much to offer the contemporary research university, and they show that a field is not necessarily humdrum for being useful.” (
Journal of Anthropological Research, November 2008)
"Duranti…has done more than anyone else in the past generation to establish linguistic anthropology as a scholarly field. ... Designed to be user-friendly …A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology…is an impressive achievement, and will be of great value to its field and neighboring fields, for a long time to come. This Companion may be a culmination of Duranti’s considerable work to establish linguistic anthropology." (Journal of Sociolinguistics)
"This hefty, immaculate volume inaugurates the innovative series of Blackwell Companions to Anthropology, and does so with academic panache … Intelligible for readers with no previous knowledge of the field ... A resource of genuine utility in academic libraries with any interest in linguistics or anthropology.” (Reference Reviews)
"This volume brings together 31 scholars in the field of linguistic anthropology and is aimed at offering an overview of the discipline's key concepts and approaches." (Pragmatics)
"Succeeds in doing exactly what it sets out to in a clear, concise and well-ordered fashion... a well thought out and comprehensive anthology that gives the reader a well-rounded introduction to linguistic anthropology... a must-have for any anthropologist's bookshelf." (Social Anthropology)
Table of ContentsSynopsis of Contents vii
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Notes on Contributors xvi
Part I: Speech Communities, Contact, and Variation 1
1 Speech Community 3
Marcyliena Morgan
2 Registers of Language 23
Asif Agha
3 Language Contact and Contact Languages 46
Paul B. Garrett
4 Codeswitching 73
Kathryn A. Woolard
5 Diversity, Hierarchy, and Modernity in Pacific Island Communities 95
Niko Besnier
6 The Value of Linguistic Diversity: Viewing Other Worlds through North American Indian Languages 121
Marianne Mithun
7 Variation in Sign Languages 141
Barbara LeMaster and Leila Monaghan
Part II: The Performing of Language 167
8 Conversation as a Cultural Activity 169
Elizabeth Keating and Maria Egbert
9 Gesture 197
John B. Haviland
10 Participation 222
Charles Goodwin and Marjorie Harness Goodwin
11 Literacy Practices across Learning Contexts 245
Patricia Baquedano-López
12 Narrative Lessons 269
Elinor Ochs
13 Poetry 290
Giorgio Banti and Francesco Giannattasio
14 Vocal Anthropology: From the Music of Language to the Language of Song 321
Steven Feld, Aaron A. Fox, Thomas Porcello, and David Samuels
Part III: Achieving Subjectivities and Intersubjectivities through Language 347
15 Language Socialization 349
Don Kulick and Bambi B. Schieffelin
16 Language and Identity 369
Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall
17 Misunderstanding 395
Benjamin Bailey
18 Language and Madness 414
James M. Wilce
19 Language and Religion 431
Webb Keane
Part IV: The Power in Language 449
20 Agency in Language 451
Alessandro Duranti
21 Language and Social Inequality 474
Susan U. Philips
22 Language Ideologies 496
Paul V. Kroskrity
General Bibliography 518
Index 606
