Language, Culture, and Communication

Viac o knihe

Written in accessible, non-technical language, this book explores the many interconnections among language, culture, and communicative meaning--using data from cultures and languages throughout the world. It examines the multi-faceted meanings and uses of language, emphasizes the ways that language encapsulates speakers' meanings and intentions, and highlights both similarities and differences in human languages. Features short, chapter-opening vignettes. The Form of the Message. Language and Cultural Meaning. Contextual Outline of an Ethnography of Communication. Communicative Interactions. Societal Segmentation and Linguistic Class and Race. Language and English and English-Speakers. Cross-Cultural Studies of Language and Gender. Learning Language. Acquisition of Communicative Competence. Multilingual Nations. Bilingual Communities. Language and Institutional Encounters. Highlights topics of current concern and e.g., interactional and symbolic uses of African American Vernacular English; endangered languages and language maintenance efforts; U.S. state and federal legislation concerning language and bilingual education; the Ebonics controversy; the international dominance of English and the growth of "New Englishes." For anyone interested in Language and Culture, Anthropological Linguistics, and Language and Communication.