Ethnography of speaking

Kristine L. Fitch & Gerry Philipsen
Table of contents

The ethnography of speaking is concerned with describing ways of speaking, as they construct and reflect social life within particular speech communities. It is concerned further with developing cross-culturally valid concepts and theories for interpreting and explaining the interaction of language and social life. The object of study within this tradition is situated discourse: how speaking is organized and conceptualized within a given community. ‘Ethnography’ refers to fieldwork, supplemented by techniques developed in other areas of study (notably conversation analysis, history, and pragmatics), which produces a written description of the way of life of a group of people. Its focus is on the observed patterns of speaking, and the symbols and meanings, premises, and rules applied to speaking within a given community.

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price.

References

Auer, P. & A. Di Luzio
(eds.) 1992 The contextualization of language. John Benjamins. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Basso, K. M.
1986 Portraits of ‘the Whiteman’. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blum-Kulka, S.
1990 You don’t touch lettuce with your fingers. Journal of Pragmatics 14: 259–288. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Blum-Kulka, S. & J. House & G. Kasper
(eds.) 1989 Cross-cultural pragmatics. Ablex. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carbaugh, D.
1989 Fifty terms for talk. In S. Ting-Toomey & F. Korzenny (eds.) Language, communication and culture: 93–120. Sage. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Carey, J.
1989 Communication as culture. Unwin Hyman. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Clifford, J. & G. Marcus
1986 Writing culture. University of California Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Duranti, A. & C. Goodwin
(eds.) 1992 Rethinking context. Cambridge University Press. . Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fitch, K.
1990/91 A ritual for attempting leave-taking in Colombia. Research on Language and Social Interaction 24: 209–224. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hall, S.
1980 Cultural studies. Media, Culture, and Society 2: 57–72. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huspek, M.
1986 Linguistic variation, context, and meaning. Language in Society 15: 149–163. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hymes, D.
1962 The ethnography of speaking. In Anthropology and human behavior: 15–53. Anthropological Society of Washington. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1972 Models of the interaction of language and social life. In J. Gumperz & D. Hymes (eds.) Directions in sociolinguistics: 35–71. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1974 Foundations in sociolinguistics. University of Pennsylvania Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Katriel, T.
1986 Talking straight. Cambridge University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
1991 Communal webs. State University of New York Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Katriel, T. & G. Philipsen
1981 ‘What we need is communication’: ‘Communication’ as a cultural category in some American speech. Communication Monographs 48: 301–317. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Kondo, D.
1990 Crafting selves. University of Chicago Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Mandelbaum, J.
1990/91 Beyond mundane reason. Research on Language and Social Interaction 24: 333–350. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Moerman, M.
1988 Talking culture. University of Pennsylvania Press. . Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Murray, S.
1983 Group formation in social science. Linguistic Research, Inc. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Philipsen, G.
1992 Speaking culturally. State University of New York Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rosaldo, M. Z.
1982 The things we do with words. Language in Society 11: 203–237. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Schegloff, E.
1987 Between macro and micro. In J. Alexander, B. Giesen & R. Munch , & N. Smelser (eds.) The micro-macro link: 207–234. University of California Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Searle, J. R.
1975 Indirect speech acts. In P. Cole & J. L. Morgan, (eds.) Syntax and semantics, vol. 3: 59–82. Academic Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tobin, J. & D. Wu & D. Davidson
1989 Preschool in three cultures. Yale University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Verschueren, J.
1989 Language on language. IPrA Papers in Pragmatics 3: 5–144. . Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Willis, P.
1977 Learning to labour. Columbia University Press. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
 
Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue