Synopses & Reviews
Eloquence in Trouble captures the articulation of several troubled lives in Bangladesh as well as the threats to the very genres of their expression, lament in particular. The first ethnography of one of the most spoken mother tongues on earth, Bangla, this study represents a new approach to troubles talk, combining the rigor of discourse analysis with the interpretive depth of psychological anthropology. Its careful transcriptions of Bangladeshi troubles talk will disturb some readers and move others--beyond past academic discussion of personhood in South Asia.
Review
"This is a very personal book, a poignant book, a compelling book, from beginning to end...A major strength of this book resides in its presentation of specimens of rural Bangladeshi Bangla speech. These specimens are not in the privileged form of Bangla that normally finds its way into books; and therefore the Bangla of Matlab might never have been archived for the furure...Now we have an archived specimen of that language, thanks to Wilce's efforts."Language in Society
Synopsis
Eloquence in Trouble captures the articulation of several troubled lives in Bangladesh as well as the threats to the very genres of their expression, lament in particular. The first ethnography of one of the most spoken mother tongues on earth, Bangla, this study represents a new approach to
troubles talk, combining the rigor of discourse analysis with the interpretive depth of psychological anthropology. Its careful transcriptions of Bangladeshi troubles talk will disturb some readers and move others--beyond past academic discussion of personhood in South Asia.