Making Sense of Language Readings in Culture and Communication

by Blum, Susan D

• ISBN13: 9780195336399
• ISBN10: 0195336399
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-11-07
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Most of us use language without giving much thought to the way it works or how it functions differently across cultures; however, the ability to use language is perhaps the most uniquely human of all our characteristics. Each of the forty-five readings in Making Sense of Language: Readings in Culture and Communication acts as a window--a particular perspective--on language. Chosen for their accessibility, these classic and contemporary selections engage students in thinking about language and how it relates to many aspects of being human. *A broad range of topics and viewpoints provides the ideal introduction to the study of language and presents instructors with a variety of options for teaching from the text. *Introductions to each part, thematic unit, and reading offer succinct historical and intellectual context to guide students and help them make connections among the topics and articles. *Pre- and post-reading questions, suggested activities, lists of key terms, suggested further readings, and a glossary aid students' understanding of the material. *Alongside canonical works, the volume includes selections on exciting contemporary topics--hip-hop, gossip, and the language of nerds, for example--that are familiar and accessible to students. About the Editor Susan Blum is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. She is a cultural and linguistic anthropologist whose research has examined an array of issues in China and the United States.

Table of Contents

The Nature of Language	p. 1
What is Language?	p. 3
Smiles, Winks, and Words	p. 5
The Origin of Speech	p. 16
Nature of the Linguistic Sign	p. 21
How Language Works	p. 25
Signing and Speaking: Competitors, Alternatives, or Incompatibles?	p. 36
Why Gossip Is Good for You	p. 40
The Orality of Language	p. 45
Aspects of Literacy	p. 52
Language and Thought	p. 70
The Relation of Habitual Thought and Behavior to Language	p. 72
Codifications of Reality: Lineal and Nonlineal	p. 84
Metaphors We Live By	p. 92
Language and Mind: Let's Get the Issues Straight!	p. 95
Language and Society	p. 107
Multilingualism	p. 109
Societal Multilingualism
Chinese, English, Spanish - and the Rest	p. 111
Triglossia: African Privilege or Necessity?	p. 117
Bad Language - Bad Citizens	p. 125
Individual Multilingualism
A Linguistic Odyssey: One Family's Experience with Language Shift and Cultural Identity in Germany and France	p. 137
Bilingualism en casa	p. 150
Conversational Code Switching	p. 163
Language Choice, Religion, and Identity in the Banarsi Community	p. 179
Language Endangerment and Revitalization
Most of the World's Languages Went Extinct	p. 192
The Future of Native Languages	p. 207
Language Loss and Revitalization in California: Overview	p. 216
Language and Identity	p. 223
Region and Class
They Speak Really Bad English Down South and in New York City	p. 227
Social Stratification of(r) in New York City Department Stores	p. 234
New York Jewish Conversational Style	p. 248
"Race" and Ethnicity
Suite for Ebony and Phonics	p. 258
"Nuthin' buta G Thang": Grammar and Language Ideology in Hip Hop Identity	p. 264
The Whiteness of Nerds: Superstandard English and Racial Markedness	p. 276
Language Ideology and Racial Inequality: Competing Functions of Spanish in an Anglo-Owned Mexican Restaurant	p. 285
Gender
"Women's Language" or "Powerless Language"?	p. 305
Women Talk Too Much	p. 312
Power and the Language of Men	p. 317
Performing Gender Identity: Young Men's Talk and the Construction of Heterosexual Masculinity	p. 328
Norm-Makers, Norm-Breakers: Uses of Speech by Men and Women in a Malagasy Community	p. 337
Language as Social Action	p. 347
Discourse, Performance, and Ritual	p. 349
How to Do Things with Words	p. 350
Kuna Curing and Magic: Counseling the Spirits	p. 354
Naming Practices and the Power of Words in China	p. 369
Amen and Hallelujah Preaching: Discourse Functions in African American Sermons	p. 384
Courtroom Questioning as a Culturally Situated Persuasive Genre of Talk	p. 398
The Internet and Relationships	p. 409
Language Ideology	p. 424
Anger, Gender, Language Shift, and the Politics of Revelation in a Papua New Guinean Village	p. 425
Accent, Standard Language Ideology, and Discriminatory Pretext in the Courts	p. 435
Orality: Another Language Ideology	p. 451
Let Your Words Be Few: Speaking and Silence in Quaker Ideology	p. 458
'To Give Up on Words': Silence in Western Apache Culture	p. 466
Glossary	p. 475
Index	p. 481
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