Linguistic Anthropology: A Reader is a comprehensive collection of the best work that has been published in this exciting and growing area of anthropology, and is organized to provide a guide to key issues in the study of language as a cultural resource and speaking as a cultural practice.* Revised and updated, this second edition contains eight new articles on key subjects, including speech communities, the power and performance of language, and narratives
* Selections are both historically oriented and thematically coherent, and are accessibly grouped according to four major themes: speech community and communicative competence; the performance of language; language socialization and literacy practices; and the power of language
* An extensive introduction provides an original perspective on the development of the field and highlights its most compelling issues
* Each section includes a brief introductory statement, sets of guiding questions, and list of recommended readings on the main topics

Acknowledgments to the Second Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

Part I: Ideal and Real Speech Communities

Part II: The Performance of Language: Events, Genres, and Narratives

Part III: Language Socialization and Literacy Practices

Part IV: The Power of Language

Index