Language, Culture, and Society: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology

Why should we study language? How do the ways in which we communicate define our identities? And how is this all changing in the digital world? Over seven editions, many have turned to Language, Culture, and Society for answers to questions like these because of its comprehensive coverage of all critical aspects of linguistic anthropology. This eighth edition carries on the legacy while addressing some of the newer, pressing, and exciting challenges of the twenty-first century, such as issues of language and power, language ideology, linguistic diasporas, as well as online and digital ecosystems. New to this edition are a reconceptualization of how linguistics approaches race, gender, and sexuality, with additional chapters and sections on how linguistics benefits archaeology and biological anthropology, as well as considerations of the relationship between language and truth, ethics, and war and politics. It also features enhanced and updated pedagogical features, such as learning objectives, updated resources for continued learning, and cross-references to updated encyclopedias of linguistic anthropology.

James Stanlaw is Professor of Anthropology at Illinois State University. His areas of interest include linguistic anthropology, cognitive anthropology, language and culture contact, and Japan and Southeast Asia. He is the author of Japanese English: Language and Culture Contact.

Nobuko Adachi is Professor of Anthropology at Illinois State University. Adachi’s research interests focus on sociolinguistics, Japanese immigration in South America, transnationalism, globalization, diasporas, and race and ethnic identity. She is the author of Ethnic Capital in a Japanese Brazilian Commune: Children of Nature.