Living Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology

• Presents a highly accessible introduction to the study of language in real-life social contexts around the world
• Combines classic studies on language and cutting-edge contemporary scholarship and assumes no prior knowledge in linguistics or anthropology
• Features a series of updates and revisions for this new edition, including an all-new chapter on forms of nonverbal language
• Provides a unifying synthesis of current research and considers future directions for the field

List of Figures vii

List of Tables ix

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Part I Language: Some Basic Questions 1

1 The Socially Charged Life of Language 3

2 Gestures, Sign Languages, and Multimodality 33

3 The Research Process in Linguistic Anthropology 52

4 Language Acquisition and Socialization 69

5 Language, Thought, and Culture 87

Part II Communities of Speakers, Hearers, Readers, and Writers 117

6 Communities of Language Users 119

7 Multilingualism and Globalization 136

8 Literacy Practices 156

9 Performance, Performativity, and the Constitution of Communities 176

Part III Language, Power, and Social Differentiation 201

10 Language and Gender 203

11 Language, Race, and Ethnicity 230

12 Language Death and Revitalization 255

13 Conclusion: Language, Power, and Agency 273

Notes 305

References 321

Index 355

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