The Ethnography of Communication

Synopsis of The Ethnography of Communication

This book is an introduction to the field of the ethnography of communication, which is concerned with how and why language is used and how its use varies in different cultures. Muriel Saville-Troike presents the essential terms and concepts introduced and developed by Dell Hymes and others, and examines the most important findings and applications of their work. Drawing on insights from social anthropology and psycholinguistics, and using examples from many languages and cultures, she builds a model which includes communication within the overall framework of cultural competence.