What is it about humans that makes language possible, and what is it about language that makes us human?\nIf you are reading this, you have done something that only our species has evolved to do. You have acquired a natural language. This book asks, How has this changed us?\nWhere scholars have long wondered what it is about humans that makes language possible, N. J. Enfield and Jack Sidnell ask instead, What is it about humans that is made possible by language? In Consequences of Language their objective is to understand what modern language really is and to identify its logical and conceptual consequences for social life. Central to this undertaking is the concept of intersubjectivity, the open sharing of subjective experience. There is, Enfield and Sidnell contend, a uniquely human form of intersubjectivity, and it is essentially intertwined with language in two ways: a primary form of intersubjectivity was necessary for language to have begun evolving in our species in the first place and then language, through its defining reflexive properties, transformed the nature of our intersubjectivity. In the authors’ analysis, social accountability—the bedrock of society—is grounded in this linguistically transformed, enhanced kind of intersubjectivity.\nThe account of the language-mind-society connection put forward in Consequences of Language is one of unprecedented reach, suggesting new connections across disciplines centrally concerned with language—from anthropology and philosophy to sociology and cognitive science—and among those who would understand the foundational role of language in making us human.

Consequences of Language: From Primary to Enhanced Intersubjectivity

Politics & Social Sciences

Sidnell, Jack

Enfield, N.J.

Philosophy

The MIT Press

The Concept of Action (New Departures in Anthropology)

Product Description When people do things with words, how do we know what they are doing? Many scholars have assumed a category of things called actions: 'requests', 'proposals', 'complaints', 'excuses'. The idea is both convenient and intuitive, but as this book argues, it is a spurious concept of action. In interaction, a person's primary task is to decide how to respond, not to label what someone just did. The labeling of actions is a meta-level process, appropriate only when we wish to draw attention to others' behaviors in order to quiz, sanction, praise, blame, or otherwise hold them to account. This book develops a new account of action grounded in certain fundamental ideas about the nature of human sociality: that social conduct is naturally interpreted as purposeful; that human behavior is shaped under a tyranny of social accountability; and that language is our central resource for social action and reaction. Review 'This book constitutes a brilliant and indispensable contribution to our understanding of language and agency.' Paul Kockelman, Yale University, Connecticut Book Description A new theory of human behaviour, with three core ingredients: language, interaction, and social accountability. About the Author N. J. Enfield is Professor and Chair in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Sydney. His work on language and human sociality is based on regular field work in mainland Southeast Asia, especially Laos. He has published more than a dozen books and over 100 academic articles. Among his more recent books are Relationship Thinking: Agency, Enchrony, and Human Sociality (2013), Natural Causes of Language (2014), The Utility of Meaning (2015), and The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology (Cambridge, 2014, co-edited with Paul Kockelman and Jack Sidnell).Jack Sidnell is Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the structures of talk and interaction. In addition to research in the Caribbean and Vietnam, he has examined talk in court and among young children. He is the author of Conversation Analysis: An Introduction (2010), the editor of Conversation Analysis: Comparative Perspectives (Cambridge, 2009) and co-editor of Conversational Repair and Human Understanding (Cambridge, 2013), The Handbook of Conversation Analysis (2012) and The Cambridge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology (Cambridge, 2014).

Anthropology

Cambridge University Press

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction (Language in Society)

Social Sciences

Wiley/Blackwell

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction

Combining the main findings, methods and analytic techniques of this central approach to language and social interaction, along with real-life examples and step-by-step explanations, Conversation Analysis is the ideal student guide to the field. 
<ul>
<li>Introduces the main findings, methods and analytic techniques of conversation analysis (CA) – a growing interdisciplinary field exploring language and social interaction</li> <li>Provides an engaging historical overview of the field, along with detailed coverage of the key findings in each area of CA and a guide to current research</li> <li>Examines the way talk is composed, and how conversation structures highlight aspects of human behavior</li> <li>Focuses on the most important domains of organization in conversation, including turn-taking, action sequencing, repair, stories, openings and closings, and the effect of context</li> <li>Includes real-life examples and step-by-step explanations, making it an ideal guide for students navigating this growing field</li> </ul>

Combining the main findings, methods and analytic techniques of this central approach to language and social interaction, along with real-life examples and step-by-step explanations, Conversation Analysis is the ideal student guide to the field. 
<ul>
<li>Introduces the main findings, methods and analytic techniques of conversation analysis (CA) – a growing interdisciplinary field exploring language and social interaction</li> <li>Provides an engaging historical overview of the field, along with detailed coverage of the key findings in each area of CA and a guide to current research</li> <li>Examines the way talk is composed, and how conversation structures highlight aspects of human behavior</li> <li>Focuses on the most important domains of organization in conversation, including turn-taking, action sequencing, repair, stories, openings and closings, and the effect of context</li> <li>Includes real-life examples and step-by-step explanations, making it an ideal guide for students navigating this growing field</li> </ul>

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sidnell, Jack. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Sidnell, Jack

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Sidnell, Jack. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Consequences of Language: From Primary to Enhanced Intersubjectivity

The Concept of Action (New Departures in Anthropology)

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction (Language in Society)

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction

Conversation Analysis: An Introduction