From Grammar to Politics: Linguistic Anthropology in a Western Samoan Village [Paperback]

Alessandro Duranti (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 1994 | ISBN-10: 0520083857 | ISBN-13: 978-0520083851

Alessandro Duranti explores the way traditional oratory in a Samoan village is shaped by the needs of the political process and shows how language insulates ceremonial speakers from the perils of everyday confrontation. He proposes a "moral flow hypothesis" in discourse, to describe a grammar that distributes praise and blame and in that way defines the standing of individuals in the community. This ethnographic journey from linguistic to political anthropology demonstrates that the analysis of grammar in context needs ethnography just as much as the conduct of politics needs grammatical analysis.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Not only a valuable contribution to Samoan and Polynesian ethnography but also a stimulating and highly readable commentary on theory and method in anthropology."--"Choice

From the Inside Flap

"Innovative and thorough scholarship by an acknowledged leader in his field, one which lies at the often quite baffling intersection of linguistics and anthropology."--Donald L. Brenneis, Editor, American Ethnologist

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Product Details

• Paperback: 232 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press (August 22, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520083857
• ISBN-13: 978-0520083851
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,167 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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