Language in culture : lectures on the social semiotics of language / Michael Silverstein, University of Chicago ; completed with the editorial assistance of E. Summerson Carr, University of Chicago, Susan Gal, University of Chicago, Constantine V. Nakassis, University of Chicago.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press,
Copyright Date:
2023
Description:
xv, 353 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-347) and index.
Summary:
"Language enables us to represent our world, rendering salient the identities, groups, and categories that constitute social life. Michael Silverstein (1945-2020) was at the forefront of the study of language in culture, and this book unifies a lifetime of his conceptual innovations in a set of seminal lectures. Focusing not just on what people say but how we say it, Silverstein shows how discourse unfolds in interaction. At the same time, he reveals that discourse far exceeds discrete events, stabilizing and transforming societies, politics, and markets through chains of activity. Presenting his magisterial theoretical vision in engaging prose, Silverstein unpacks technical terms through myriad examples - from brilliant readings of Marcel Marceau's pantomime, the class-laced banter of graduate students, and the poetics/politics of wine-tasting, to Fijian gossip and US courtroom talk. He draws on forebears in linguistics and anthropology while offering his distinctive semiotic approach, redefining how we think about language and culture"--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.