A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology

A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology provides a series of in-depth explorations of key concepts and approaches by some of the scholars whose work constitutes the theoretical and methodological foundations of the contemporary study of language as culture.

• Provides a definitive overview of the field of linguistic anthropology, comprised of original contributions by leading scholars in the field
• Summarizes past and contemporary research across the field and is intended to spur students and scholars to pursue new paths in the coming decades
• Includes a comprehensive bibliography of over 2000 entries designed as a resource for anyone seeking a guide to the literature of linguistic anthropology

Synopsis of Contents vii

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Notes on Contributors xvi

Part I: Speech Communities, Contact, and Variation 1

1 Speech Community 3
Marcyliena Morgan

2 Registers of Language 23
Asif Agha

3 Language Contact and Contact Languages 46
Paul B. Garrett

4 Codeswitching 73
Kathryn A. Woolard

5 Diversity, Hierarchy, and Modernity in Pacific Island Communities 95
Niko Besnier

6 The Value of Linguistic Diversity: Viewing Other Worlds through North American Indian Languages 121
Marianne Mithun

7 Variation in Sign Languages 141
Barbara LeMaster and Leila Monaghan

Part II: The Performing of Language 167

8 Conversation as a Cultural Activity 169
Elizabeth Keating and Maria Egbert

9 Gesture 197
John B. Haviland

10 Participation 222
Charles Goodwin and Marjorie Harness Goodwin

11 Literacy Practices across Learning Contexts 245
Patricia Baquedano-López

12 Narrative Lessons 269
Elinor Ochs

13 Poetry 290
Giorgio Banti and Francesco Giannattasio

14 Vocal Anthropology: From the Music of Language to the Language of Song 321
Steven Feld, Aaron A. Fox, Thomas Porcello, and David Samuels

Part III: Achieving Subjectivities and Intersubjectivities through Language 347

15 Language Socialization 349
Don Kulick and Bambi B. Schieffelin

16 Language and Identity 369
Mary Bucholtz and Kira Hall

17 Misunderstanding 395
Benjamin Bailey

18 Language and Madness 414
James M. Wilce

19 Language and Religion 431
Webb Keane

Part IV: The Power in Language 449

20 Agency in Language 451
Alessandro Duranti

21 Language and Social Inequality 474
Susan U. Philips

22 Language Ideologies 496
Paul V. Kroskrity

General Bibliography 518

Index 606

“The essays … display a vigorous subdisciplinary repertoire with much to offer the contemporary research university, and they show that a field is not necessarily humdrum for being useful.” (Journal of Anthropological Research, November 2008)

"Duranti…has done more than anyone else in the past generation to establish linguistic anthropology as a scholarly field. ... Designed to be user-friendly …A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology…is an impressive achievement, and will be of great value to its field and neighboring fields, for a long time to come. This Companion may be a culmination of Duranti’s considerable work to establish linguistic anthropology." (Journal of Sociolinguistics)

"This hefty, immaculate volume inaugurates the innovative series of Blackwell Companions to Anthropology, and does so with academic panache … Intelligible for readers with no previous knowledge of the field ... A resource of genuine utility in academic libraries with any interest in linguistics or anthropology.” (Reference Reviews)

"This volume brings together 31 scholars in the field of linguistic anthropology and is aimed at offering an overview of the discipline's key concepts and approaches." (Pragmatics)

"Succeeds in doing exactly what it sets out to in a clear, concise and well-ordered fashion... a well thought out and comprehensive anthology that gives the reader a well-rounded introduction to linguistic anthropology... a must-have for any anthropologist's bookshelf." (Social Anthropology)

Alessandro Duranti is Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Center for Language, Interaction and Culture at UCLA. His books include From Grammar to Politics: Linguistic Anthropology in a Western Samoan Village (1994), Linguistic Anthropology (1997), Key Terms in Language and Culture (2001), and Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader (editor, 2001). In 1999 he received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and the UCLA Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award. He is a former president of the Society for Linguistic Anthropology and former editor of the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. In 2001 Duranti received the American Anthropological Association/Mayfield Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. The role of language in social life cannot be understood without a study of the interface between linguistic forms and the cultural practices that they help constitute. Linguistic anthropologists have been at the forefront of such a study for decades.

A Companion to Linguistic Anthropology continues in the same tradition by providing a series of in-depth explorations of key areas of study by some of the scholars whose work constitutes the foundations of the contemporary investigation of language as culture. Senior scholars who have shaped the field are joined by more junior colleagues who provide a fresh perspective on well-established areas of inquiry and new conceptualizations. Includes a comprehensive bibliography of over 2,000 entries designed as a resource for anyone seeking a guide to the literature of linguistic anthropology.

"Duranti has brought together a stellar collection of original essays that will surely become a foundational resource in linguistic anthropology."
–Deborah Tannen, Georgetown University

"With this Companion, Duranti continues his creative role in giving shape to linguistic anthropology as a field. The chapters will be valuable not only for students, but also for colleagues. They bring together a considerable range of those active in the field, and of important foci of research. To mention just two: it is hard to imagine greater clarity than that brought to linguistic diversity by Mithun, for example, or to the nature of language ideologies by Kroskrity."
–Dell Hymes, University of Virginia

"A valuable contribution to linguistic anthropology, this book comprises the best articles by some of the best authors. In it, Duranti celebrates the rich diversity of linguistic anthropology by integrating new advances in sociolinguistics, discourse and conversation analysis, gender and ethnic studies, and other sister cross-disciplines. Moving well beyond early studies of varieties of language and folklore, this book offers insights into the cultural dimensions of power, social inequality, identity, and many other dimensions of talk and text in their sociocultural contexts. This will serve as a true companion for many students and scholars in many disciplines."
–Teun A. van Dijk, Universitat Pompeu Fabra