Culture, Interaction and Person Reference in an Australian Language : An ethnography of Bininj Gunwok communication Hardback
by Murray (Australian National University) Garde
Part of the Culture and Language Use series
Hardback
Description
The study of person reference stands at the cross-roads of linguistics, anthropology and psychology.
As one aspect of an ethnography of communication, this book deals with a single problem - how one knows who is being talked about in conversation - from a rich and varied ethnographic perspective.
Through a combination of grammatical agreement and free pronouns, Bininj Gunwok possesses a pronominal system that, according to current theoretical accounts in linguistics, should facilitate clear cut reference.
However, the descriptions of Bininj Gunwok conversation in this volume demonstrate that frequently a vast gulf lies between knowing that, say, an object is '3rd singular', and actually knowing who it refers to.
Achieving reference to people in Bininj Gunwok can involve a delicate and refined set of calculations which are part of a deliberate and artful way of speaking.
Speakers draw on a diverse set of grammatical and lexical devices all underpinned by shared knowledge about a diverse range of social relationships and cultural practices.
Information
-
Item not Available
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:274 pages
- Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Co
- Publication Date:14/11/2013
- Category:
- ISBN:9789027202949
Information
-
Item not Available
- Format:Hardback
- Pages:274 pages
- Publisher:John Benjamins Publishing Co
- Publication Date:14/11/2013
- Category:
- ISBN:9789027202949
