In a context in which language and culture are dynamically interrelated, Language and c ulture in dialogue integrates the abundant first-hand research materials of Andrew J. Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart with insightful viewpoints from cultural and linguistic anthropology. This book features informative discussions of grounded theoretical issues and practical concerns in language practices, highlighting their relevance to cultural creation.

This book contains twelve chapters, which are organized into four parts. Part 1 (chapters 1–4) generally discusses different concepts (e.g. Dan Everett's ideas of ‘dark matter’ and ‘culture grammar’ in chapter 1; Alan Barnard's proposition of the narrative structure in chapter 2), approaches (e.g. the approach of adding creativity extended from Pierre Bourdieu's practice and embodiment theory in chapter 3), and themes (e.g. controversies over orality and literacy developed by Jack Goody and Ian Watt, illocution or perlocutionary effects of language practices in chapter 4) related to practice theory.

Part 2 (chapters 5–9) explores language, cognition, and culture in detail under the ethnographic context. The first two chapters in this part focus on the topic of cognitive representation that appears in language classifications. In particular, Roy Ellen (chapter 5) illustrates the process of cognitive recategorization, strengthening the significance of assimilating new experiences by exemplifying the classification of animals. In a similar vein, Anna Wierzbicka (chapter 6) advocates using the experimental and cultural nuances for classifying colors. Chapter 7 seeks to expound cultural practices and linguistic forms using the approach of cognitive science, in which the process of the interdependence between language and thought is elaborated upon by the theory of mind and the labeling theory. Chapter 8 recapitulates the joint contribution of verbal and nonverbal actions to ritual efficacy in ritualization. Chapter 9 further presents features of language used in ritual practices.

Part 3 (chapters 10–11) probes into language use in the exercise of power by analyzing research work on rumor, gossip, and naming (chapter 10), and this issue is further exemplified in the development of lingua franca and minority languages influenced by oral and literate modes of expression (chapter 11).

Part 4 (chapter 12) first reiterates historical and contemporary issues in the realm of language and culture studies, such as modes of classification, the cognitive science approach, and expressions of power. Then, this part concludes the creative alliance of language and culture. Furthermore, a new dimension was added by discussing the extreme influence of different languages on the human mind during translation as well as the ecological functions of language that enables adaptation to the environment.

Throughout this book, each of its four parts has explicit foci and follows progressively from one to the next, leading the readers on a journey across the change and continuity in language and culture. A number of ethnographic cases are presented to provide a vivid and lucid interpretation of the ‘dialogue’ between language and culture. Therefore, this book is reader-friendly, contributing to a solid reference resource for both undergraduate and graduate students in fields of language study, sociology, and anthropology.