Language and Social Relations (Studies in the Social and Cultural Foundations of Language, Series Number 24)

Language is closely linked to our social relationships and is the medium through which we participate in a variety of social activities. This fascinating study explores the important role of language in various aspects of our social life, such as identity, gender relations, class, kinship, status, and hierarchies. Drawing on data from over thirty different languages and societies, it shows how language is more than simply a form of social action; it is also an effective tool with which we formulate models of social life and conduct. These models - or particular forms of social behaviour - are linked to the classification of 'types' of action or actor, and are passed 'reflexively' from person to person, and from generation to generation. Providing a unified way of accounting for a variety of social phenomena, this book will be welcomed by all those interested in the interaction between language, culture, and society. Language connects people to each other in social relationships and allows them to participate in a variety of activities in everyday life. This original study explores the important role of language in various domains of our social life, including identity, gender, class, kinship, deference, status, hierarchy, and others. Drawing on materials from over thirty languages and societies, this book shows that language is not simply a tool of social conduct but the effective means by which human beings formulate models of conduct. Models of conduct serve as points of reference for social behavior, even when actual conduct departs from them. A principled understanding of the processes whereby such models are produced and transformed in large-scale social history, and also invoked, negotiated, and departed from in small-scale social interactions, provides a foundation for the cross-cultural study of human conduct. "Language connects people to each other in social relationships and allows them to participate in a variety of activities in everyday life. This original study explores the role of language in various domains of our social life, including identity, gender, class, kinship, deference, status, hierarchy, and others. Drawing on materials from over thirty languages and societies, this book shows that language is not simply a tool of social conduct but the effective means by which human beings formulate models of conduct."--Jacket Whether you are familiar with linguistic anthropology or not, this book will change the way you approach language and is written in such a coherent way that one can grasp and use the often technical vocabulary included. Agha has a particular insight into the nature of language and its place in society. I highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in developing a robust and insightful approach to sociolinguistics or linguistic anthropology.

provides A New Way Of Accounting For The Relationship Between Language And A Variety Of Social Phenomena.