Words and Processes in Mambila Kinship: The Theoretical Importance of the Complexity of Everyday Life [Hardcover]

David Zeitlyn (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0739108018 | ISBN-13: 978-0739108017 | Publication Date: December 23, 2004

Words and Processes in Mambila Kinship presents a set of studies of the way that Mambila speakers in Cameroon talk about themselves and their kin. Author David Zeitlyn employs conversational analytic methods to further the study of kinship terminologies. This book takes an important step toward a new synthesis between the practice of ethnography and the study of language while presenting African natural language data (still rare in mainstream linguistics) in an accessible format.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Zeitlyn has plunged enthusiastically into the domain of cultural instantiation, linking the formal structure of kinship terminologies with the arena of 'person referring conversations.' He brings to the surface a panoply of topics, ranging from the ethnography of a Mambila conversation to the problem of ethnographic translation, and shows us effective ways of integrating rigorous analysis with social and linguistic context. The result is a refreshing approach to kinship that recognizes its roots in past theories as it maps out new territory for future theorizing. (Read, Dwight )

About the Author

David Zeitlyn is Reader in Social Anthropology at the University of Kent, Canterbury.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lexington Books (December 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739108018
• ISBN-13: 978-0739108017
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,160,220 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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