Signs of deference, signs of demeanour is an edited volume within the field of linguistic ethnography that explores the theoretical and empirical developments in Southeast Asian languages. The book analyses the complex relationship between deference and demeanour in several language communities, focusing on self-reference and interlocutor-reference. Chapter 1, authored by the book's editors, serves as an introduction to the Goffmanian notion of deference, an appreciation directed toward another, and demeanour, which is what the individual conveys about himself. In this chapter, the editors argue that the Brown & Gilman (1968) model of interlocutor reference placed its emphasis on deference. Instead, they claim demeanour is highlighted. Through an in-depth analysis, the editors lay the foundation for understanding how deference and demeanour influence interlocutor dynamics, thus framing the overarching theme of the volume.

Part 1 of the book, ‘Systems’, contains chapters 2 and 3, describing interlocutor reference systems for two languages. Chapter 2 (N. J. Enfield) describes the set of reference practices used in Kri dialect. This ‘system’ operates along two main axes: ‘hierarchy’, based on sibling order, and ‘inclusion’, based on consanguinity. Likewise, chapter 3 (Joseph Errington) highlights how sociolinguistic patterns have evolved since the early twentieth century, driven by sociopolitical and demographic changes, and contact with Indonesian through ‘lagging emulation’, which describes how non-elite speakers adopted elite forms to show deference using kin terms and personal pronouns.

In Part 2, ‘Practices’, chapters 4 and 5 depict the conversational practices of interlocutor reference in Javanese and Malay. Chapter 4 (Michael C. Ewing) explores the use of vocatives in acts of address even when no overt reference is used to emphasise the intersubjective connection between speech participants. Meanwhile, chapter 5 (Sarah Lee) examines sociolinguistic patterns of use of English pronouns I/you in urban Malay talk, reflecting modernity values and social relations, allowing for egalitarian-type participants.

Part 3, ‘Intimacies’, explores the relations between deference and demeanour and the importance of respect, collaboration, and their limitations in interpersonal interaction. It examines Vietnamese kinship terms (chapter 6 by Jack Sidnell), Indonesian pronoun alternation, and the egalitarian relation implied by the Lao term siaw1 (chapter 7 by Charles H. P. Zuckerman), and deference in Indonesian political interviews (chapter 8 by Dwi Noverini Djenar).

Chapter 9 (Luke Fleming) is the sole contribution in Part 4, ‘Theories’. This chapter captures the difference in person reference systems between East and Southeast Asian as opposed to European languages since the former do not follow the European T/V pronoun model. Instead, a functional typology of honorific registers that addresses the addressee, the speaker, and a third person is put forward based on their pragmatic salience, which includes how social context, language ideologies, kinship structures, and sociohistorical conditions influence interlocutor choices.

Signs of deference, signs of demeanour manages to effectively fill the gap through its comprehensive analysis of interlocutor reference and self-other relations across diverse Southeast Asian communities. The book provides a representative sample of theoretical and empirical developments in linguistic ethnography, focusing on Southeast Asian languages, offering case studies and theoretical arguments aimed at expanding the field.