The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology
The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology
Paul Kockelman, Yale University, Connecticut
Jack Sidnell, University of Toronto
The field of linguistic anthropology looks at human uniqueness and diversity through the lens of language, our species' special combination of art and instinct. Human language both shapes, and is shaped by, our minds, societies, and cultural worlds. This state-of-the-field survey covers a wide range of topics, approaches and theories, such as the nature and function of language systems, the relationship between language and social interaction, and the place of language in the social life of communities. Promoting a broad vision of the subject, spanning a range of disciplines from linguistics to biology, from psychology to sociology and philosophy, this authoritative handbook is an essential reference guide for students and researchers working on language and culture across the social sciences.
- Clearly written and accessible, main and part introductions provide readers with an overview of the contents
- Provides an in-depth presentation of key concepts, claims and controversies
- Brings together leading scholars from anthropology, linguistics and other disciplines, and presents a broad interdisciplinary vision of linguistic anthropology
Reviews & endorsements
'Masquerading under the humble rubric of a 'Handbook', this stunning collection of original essays juxtaposes many of the central senior figures of linguistic anthropology with an impressive array of younger voices - including the editors themselves - shaking the mix further by sometimes unexpected but always provocative conjunctions of themes and expertise. It presents fresh evidence for why theoretical advances stemming from a preoccupation with language now inform the best of current anthropological thinking more widely. The collection not only spans an impressive range of linguistic and transdisciplinary topics, but also reflects the main centers of research and discovery in modern linguistic anthropology.' John B. Haviland, University of California, San Diego
'This extraordinarily stimulating book is a thoughtfully composed collection of fresh perspectives on five major themes in the anthropology of language.' Anthony C. Woodbury, University of Texas, Austin
'Continuing the excellent Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics series … the editors have assembled a superb line-up of contributors who represent the diversity of perspectives within linguistic anthropology … the limited scope of each chapter helps to narrow focus and provide depth. Used in conjunction with a textbook or additional readings, specific chapters could be profitably used in upper-level undergraduate courses. Graduate students and professionals will appreciate the index and comprehensive bibliographies provided with each chapter … Summing up: highly recommended. All academic levels/libraries.' E. Pappas, Choice
'The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology is an intellectually stimulating and wide-ranging compilation that is sure to spark discussion on its vision of the field. In many ways, it offers a rebuke of what the editors see as the weaknesses of linguistic anthropology, as the introduction notes that the contributors to the volume include 'scholars who take their linguistics as seriously as their anthropology', who use methods 'far beyond ethnography and descriptive linguistics', and who 'study processes far beyond the historical and the cultural.' Adrienne Lo, Journal of Sociolinguistics
Product details
April 2021Paperback
9781009014618
764 pages
242 × 168 × 39 mm
1.31kg
45 b/w illus. 12 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Introduction: directions in the anthropology of language N. J. Enfield, Paul Kockelman and Jack Sidnell
- Part I. System and Function:
- 2. Basics of a language R. M. W. Dixon
- 3. The item/system problem N. J. Enfield
- 4. Language and the manual modality: the communicative resilience of the human species Susan Goldin-Meadow
- 5. Linguistic diversity and universals Balthasar Bickel
- 6. Denotation and the pragmatics of language Michael Silverstein
- 7. Language function Sandra A. Thompson and Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen
- Part II. Process and Formation:
- 8. Language acquisition and language socialization Penelope Brown and Suzanne Gaskins
- 9. Language, society and history: towards a unified approach? Paja Faudree and Magnus Pharao Hansen
- 10. Language emergence: Al-Sayyid Bedouin sign language Wendy Sandler, Mark Aronoff, Carol Padden and Irit Meir
- 11. Endangered languages Keren Rice
- 12. Language evolution Stephen C. Levinson
- 13. Causal dynamics of language N. J. Enfield
- Part III. Interaction and Intersubjectivity:
- 14. Intentionality and language Robert B. Brandom
- 15. The architecture of intersubjectivity revisited Jack Sidnell
- 16. Language and human sociality Alan Rumsey
- 17. The ontology of action, in interaction Jack Sidnell and N. J. Enfield
- 18. Conversation across cultures Mark Dingemanse and Simeon Floyd
- Part IV. Community and Social Life:
- 19. Poetics and performativity Luke Fleming and Michael Lempert
- 20. Ritual language David Tavárez
- 21. Oratory, rhetoric, politics Bernard Bate
- 22. Language and media Paul Manning and Ilana Gershon
- 23. The speech community and beyond: language and the nature of the social aggregate Shaylih Muehlmann
- Part V. Interdisciplinary Perspectives:
- 24. Linguistic anthropology and critical theory Paul Kockelman
- 25. Linguistic anthropology and sociocultural anthropology Rupert Stasch
- 26. Sociolinguistics: making quantification meaningful Penelope Eckert
- 27. Language and archaeology: state of the art Roger Blench
- 28. Language and biology: the multiple interactions between genetics and language Dan Dediu
- 29. Linguistic anthropology in the age of language automata Paul Kockelman.
