Linguistic Anthropology

An introduction to linguistic anthropology as an interdisciplinary field which studies language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice.

Alessandro Duranti (Author)

9780521449939, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 4 September 1997

422 pages, 4 b/w illus.
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm, 0.708 kg

'Once in a while a book is published that defines and shapes the content of a discipline, Duranti's Anthropology is one of those books.' Linguistic Anthropology

In this textbook, first published in 1997, Alessandro Duranti introduces linguistic anthropology as an interdisciplinary field which studies language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice. The theories and methods of linguistic anthropology are introduced through a discussion of linguistic diversity, grammar in use, the role of speaking in social interaction, the organisation and meaning of conversational structures, and the notion of participation as a unit of analysis. An entire chapter is devoted to the notion of culture, and there are invaluable methodological chapters on ethnography and transcription. Original in its treatment and yet eminently clear and readable, Linguistic Anthropology will appeal to both upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.

1. The scope of linguistic anthropology
2. Theories of culture
3. Linguistic diversity
4. Ethnographic methods
5. Transcription: from writing to digitized images
6. Meaning in linguistic forms
7. Speaking as social action
8. Conversational exchanges
9. Units of participation
10. Conclusions
Appendix
References
Indexes.

Subject Areas: Sociolinguistics [CFB]