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Languages and Their Speakers provides an introduction both to languages themselves and to their social functions. Written especially for nonlinguistic majors, the book gives insight into the meaning, value, and function of language within a culture and into the ways language behavior varies and changes. Each chapter of the book discusses what it means to be a speaker of a particular language, and puts the language in context among the languages of the world.
The book explores how people know their languages—know them as grammatical systems and know them as part of a cultural fabric. The authors discuss the ways speakers, as opposed to linguists, view a language. They consider what one must know in order to be a good speaker of a particular language; the constraints placed on communication by the culture in which it takes place; how social relationships influence language; and how the use of language can, in turn, influence social relationships.
Languages and Their Speakers will be of interest to students of linguistics, anthropology, and those concerned about the use of language in its cultural context.
This volume is complemented by a second volume entitled Languages and Their Status, also available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Illustrations
Introduction
Preface to the 1987 Edition
I. JACALTEC: FIELD WORK IN GUATEMALA
Introduction
Field Methods
The Jacaltec Language
The Linguistic Horizons of Jacaltec Speakers
Suggestions for Further Reading
II. MANINKA
Introduction: Maninka Language and Society
Maninka Grammar
The Use of Language in Maninka Culture
Suggestions for Further Reading
Appendix
III. BECOMING A COMPETENT SPEAKER OF MALAGASY
Introduction
Background
Forming Sentences in Malagasy
Malagasy Subjects and Complex Structures
Conditions on the Use of Speech
Behavioral Norms and Speech Usage
Suggestions for Further Reading
IV. HOW TO TALK TO YOUR BROTHER-IN-LAW IN GUUGU YIMIDHIRR
Embedded Speech
The Language of Cooktown
The Guugu Yimidhirr Language
The Social Context of Speech in Traditional Guugu Yimidhirr Society
Language in the Modern Guugu Yimidhirr Community
Suggestions for Further Reading
Glossary
V. JAPANESE: A STORY OF LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE
Introduction
A History of Japan
The Structure of Japanese
Japanese and Its Relation to the Environment
Suggestions for Further Reading