Synopses & Reviews
Alessandro Duranti introduces linguistic anthropology as an interdisciplinary field that 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 organization and meaning of conversational structures, and the notion of participation as a unit of analysis. Linguistic Anthropology will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students.
Review
"Once in a while a book is published that defines and shapes the content of a discipline. Duranti's Linguistic Antrhopology is one of those books. Rooted in a profound knowledge of historical and current scholarship in both linguistics and anthropology...the author's discourse provides a clear manifesto for linguistic anthropology as a full-grown discipline of its own. ...instructors for linguistic anthropology classes will find this book extremely valuable. I know of no other text that is so well -documented about issues, theories, and methods in linguistic anthropology both synchronically and diachronically. ...the book is very coherent theoretically...it proposes a clear, distinctive way of doing linguistic anthropology. ...anybody who intends to conduct research in this discipline will find this to be an extremely valuable resource. " Giovanni Bennardo, American Anthropology
Review
"Linguistic anthropology should be of great help in opening up this dynamic branch of research to a broader audience." language in Society
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 348-386) and indexes.
Table of Contents
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.