Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology

by James Stanlaw, Nobuko Adachi, Zdenek Salzmann

Why should we study language? How do the ways in which we communicate define our identities? And how is this all changing in the digital world? Since 1993, many have turned to Language, Culture, and Society for answers to questions like those above because of its comprehensive coverage of all critical aspects of linguistic anthropology. This seventh edition carries on the legacy while addressing some of the newer pressing and exciting challenges of the 21st century, such as issues of language and power, language ideology, and linguistic diasporas. Chapters on gender, race, and class also examine how language helps create - and is created by - identity. New to this edition are enhanced and updated pedagogical features, such as learning objectives, updated resources for continued learning, and the inclusion of a glossary. There is also an expanded discussion of communication online and of social media outlets and how that universe is changing how we interact. The discussion on race and ethnicity has also been expanded to include Latin- and Asian-American English vernacular.

Genres: Linguistics, Language

452 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 24, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a seriously interesting read (as far as classroom reading material is concerned). Ponders how culture affects one's language and vice versa, or if language can shape cognition. Linguistic anthropology covers everything from paralanguage (e.g. facial expressions), to dialects, pidgins and creoles, to linguistic gender constructs (e.g., is there such a thing as “women's speech?“), to text-speech and emoji-use.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook. Very dry textbook.