Kuna Ways of Speaking : An Ethnographic Perspective

by Sherzer, Joel

• ISBN13: 9781587360305
• ISBN10: 1587360306
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-01-01
• Publisher: Hats Off Books

Author Biography

Joel Sherzer is professor of Anthropology and Linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been carrying out research among the Kuna Indians since 1970

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
For a Kuna Ethnography of Speaking	p. 3
The Kuna	p. 3
Language and Speech in Cross-Cultural Perspective	p. 8
The Ethnography of Speaking	p. 11
Related Perspectives	p. 14
Theoretical Issues	p. 18
Language and Speech in Kuna Society	p. 21
Kuna Linguistic Varieties and Other Languages	p. 21
From Vocabulary to Metaphor	p. 25
Grammatical Structure	p. 36
Language and Society	p. 56
The Idyllic and the Conflictual	p. 65
The 'Gathering House': Public and Political 'Gatherings'	p. 72
Men's and Women's 'Gatherings': Chanting	p. 73
The Typology of Chanting	p. 76
The Purpose of Chanting	p. 89
Visiting 'Chiefs'	p. 91
Interisland Ritual 'Gatherings'	p. 95
When 'Chiefs' Speak	p. 98
Men's 'Gatherings': Village Affairs, Reports, and Relaxation	p. 99
The 'Gathering House' as Informal Meeting Place	p. 107
The 'Gathering House' as Verbal Nerve Center	p. 108
Curing and Magic: Counseling the Spirits	p. 110
Curing Events	p. 111
The Typology of Ikarkana	p. 112
Contexts for the Performance of Ikarkana	p. 118
Ikar Structure and Content	p. 120
What Makes Curing and Magic Work	p. 133
Variation and Adaptation	p. 134
Puberty Rites and Festivities	p. 139
Puberty Events	p. 139
The Structure and Content of 'The Way of the Kantule'	p. 144
Official and Unofficial Activities	p. 147
Tradition and Variation	p. 151
Everyday Speech: From Morning to Night, from Birth to Death	p. 154
A Focus on Setting: Times and Places for Talking	p. 155
A Focus on Discourse: Speech Acts, Events, and Situations	p. 158
From Everyday to Ritual: Configurations and Intersections	p. 185
Patterns of Speaking	p. 186
Intersections and Interpenetrations of Ways of Speaking	p. 213
Continuity and Change	p. 223
Learning and Teaching	p. 223
Tradition, Change, Conflict, and Adaptation	p. 229
Guide to Pronunciation	p. 235
Notes	p. 237
References	p. 251
Index	p. 261
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