A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Readings - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405125942 ISBN 13: 9781405125949

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007

Synopsis

Starting from the premise that interpersonal communication is inseparable from culture, this collection moves beyond traditional approaches to the subject by foregrounding the ways in which interpersonal relationships emerge through culturally mediated language practices.

• Proposes a new approach to interpersonal communication, based in ethnography and performance.
  
• Features ethnographic articles that are inviting and accessible to beginning students.
  
• Explores interpersonal interactions in a range of settings: from high school slang in California to sign language use in a deaf church, from Tuareg greetings in the Sahara to the language of aggression among Mississippi girls.
  
• Includes articles with detailed transcripts of conversation that students can analyze.
  
• Provides students with conceptual and practical tools to develop their own ethnographic research on language practices.

About this title

Book Description

A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication: Essential Readings is a collection designed to expand understanding of this field of study. Most courses in interpersonal communication have traditionally adopted a self-improvement approach, which is based on a psychology model. A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication broadens the discussion to foreground the ways in which interpersonal relationships emerge through culturally mediated language practices.This engaging and innovative collection brings together key readings from the fields of linguistic anthropology, sociolinguistics, communication, and conversation analysis. Starting from the premise that interpersonal communication is inseparable from culture, this volume introduces students to the rich and varied communicative practices of social communities in the United States and beyond. Readings explore interpersonal interactions in a range of settings: from high school slang in California to sign language use in a deaf church, from Tuareg greetings in the Sahara to verbal encounters on American city streets, from the male talk of New Zealand rugby players to the language of aggression among Mississippi girls. By drawing on these ethnographic case studies, students can gain new awareness of the cultural nature of their own interpersonal communication.

From the Back Cover

Starting from the premise that interpersonal communication is inseparable from culture, this collection moves beyond traditional approaches to the subject by foregrounding the ways in which interpersonal relationships emerge through culturally mediated language practices. Drawing on ethnographic material, A Cultural Approach to Interpersonal Communication introduces students to the rich and varied communicative practices of social communities around the world. Readings explore interpersonal interactions in an internationally diverse range of settings, such as the use of slang in California high schools, the application of sign language in a church for the Deaf, Tuareg greetings in the Sahara, everyday verbal encounters on American city streets, the speech of male rugby players in New Zealand, and the language of aggression among Mississippi girls. This engaging and innovative volume also provides sample assignments that will give students the conceptual and practical tools to develop their own ethnographic research on language practices.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1405125942
• ISBN 13: 9781405125949
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 576
• Editor: Leila Monaghan, Jane E. Goodman