Language, Culture, and Communication : The Meaning of Messages

by Bonvillain, Nancy

• ISBN13: 9780130979537
• ISBN10: 0130979538
• Edition: 4th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Using data from cultures and languages throughout the world to highlight both similarities and differences in human languages--this book explores the many interconnections among language, culture, and communicative meaning. It examines the multi-faceted meanings and uses of language and emphasizes the ways that language encapsulates speakers' meanings and intentions. Includes new section on Narratives (Ch. 4) and Language Ideologies (Ch. 13). Features Interactional, situational, and social functions of languages. >For anyone interested in Language and Culture, Anthropological Linguistics, and Language and Communication.

Table of Contents

(NOTE: Summary and References conclude each chapter.)
1. Introduction.
2. The Form of the Message.

Phonology: The Sounds of Language. Morphology: The Structure of Words. Syntax: The Structure of Sentences. Semantics: The Analysis of Meaning. Manual Language. Nonverbal Communication.

3. Language and Cultural Meaning.

Foundations of Linguistics Anthropology. Lexical and Cultural Categories. Cultural Presupposition. Extended and Transferred Meaning.

4. Contextual Components: Outline of an Ethnography of Communication.

Ethnography of Communication. Settings. Participants. Topics and Goals. Speech Acts. Narratives. Routines.

5. Communicative Interactions.

Structural Properties of Conversation. Conversational Postulates. Directives and Responses in Context. Politeness.

6. Societal Segmentation and Linguistic Variation: Class and Race.

Social Stratification. Caste. Class. Race.

7. Language and Gender: English and English-Speakers.

Pronunciation. Grammatical Variants. Choices of Vocabulary. Gender-Related Conversational Styles. Gender-Bias in English.

8. Cross-Cultural Studies of Language and Gender.

Gender-Exclusive Patterns. Linguistic and Stylistic Preferences. Images of Gender in Linguistic Form.

9. Learning Language.

Acquisition of Language. Complex Grammars. Comparative Evidence. Some Universal Sequences. Instructional Strategies in Other Cultures.

10. The Acquisition of Communicative Competence.

Acquiring Communicative Styles. Learning Status and Role. Learning to Converse.

11. Multilingual Nations.

India. Canada. United States.

12. Bilingual Communities.

Linguistic Change. Language Use in Bilingual Communities. The International Dominance of English. Bilingual Conversational Strategies. Interethnic Miscommunication.

13. Language and Institutional Encounters.

Language Ideologies. Language and Status. Institutional Contexts. Education. Medical Encounters. Legal Settings. The Media.

Glossary.
Index.

Excerpts

This book presents a discussion of the multifaceted meanings and uses of language. It emphasizes the ways that language encapsulates speakers' meanings and intentions. It includes data from cultures and languages throughout the world in order to document both similarities and differences in human language. Following an introduction (Chapter 1) and a presentation of structural features of language (Chapter 2), cultural meanings of words and metaphors are analyzed in Chapter 3. The next two chapters (Chapters 4 and 5) describe situational and interactive aspects of communication. Chapter 6 focuses on speakers' class and race as significant determinants of speech style. Chapters 7 and 8 discuss the role of gender. The next two chapters (Chapters 9 and 10) describe the processes of language acquisition. Chapter 11 focuses on language use, loyalty, and conflict in multilingual nations; Chapter 12 discusses multilinguism in communicative interaction. The book concludes with a chapter devoted to analyzing inequalities of power in institutional encounters (Chapter 13). I wish to express my thanks to Prentice Hall's reviewers for their useful critique of the manuscript: Hoyt Alverson, Dartmouth College; Joseph Errington, Yale University; and Joel Sherzer, University of Texas. I also wish to thank my publisher, Nancy Roberts, for suggesting and encouraging this book. I also thank Kim Gueterman, project manager, for expertly guiding the book's production; Sharon Chambliss, Managing Editor of Anthropology and Sociology; and Alexandra Shandell for preparing the index. Nancy Bonvillain