Overview

Language is central to human experience and our understanding of who we are, whether written or unwritten, sung or spoken. But what is language and how do we record it? Where does it reside? Does it exist and evolve within written sources, in performance, in the mind or in speech? For too long, ethnographic, aesthetic and sociolinguistic studies of language have remained apart from analyses emerging from traditions such as literature and performance. Where is Language? argues for a more complex and contextualized understanding of language across this range of disciplines, engaging with key issues, including orality, literacy, narrative, ideology, performance and the human communities in which these take place. Eminent anthropologist Ruth Finnegan draws together a lifetime of ethnographic case studies, reading and personal commentary to explore the roles and nature of language in cultures across the world, from West Africa to the South Pacific. By combining research and reflections, Finnegan discusses the multi-modality of language to provide an account not simply of vocabulary and grammar, but one which questions the importance of cultural settings and the essence of human communication itself.

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9781472590930

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Reviews

Ruth Finnegan has that priceless quality of mixing lightness and learning which is the brand of a top-notch master ... And an extraordinary scholar she certainly is ... The result is an entertaining, well-written collection, which is meant for anyone with an interest in language ... Where is Language? is a compelling book especially because of its author. Her prose and imagination are overflowing and magnificent, her stories enchanting. System [This] book is entertaining and well-written, and it is meant for anyone with an interest in language and with that curiosity full of desire which fuels its author. Rassegna di Linguistica Inglese Ruth Finnegan is an extraordinary scholar of great style and profundity. Trace the fields of new literacy studies, situated cognition, and story-telling, and you will find the research and writings of Ruth Finnegan. So much of her thinking has become embedded in our understandings of language, perhaps without us ever knowing her. Where is Language? is a great introduction to her scholarship and for many a welcome opportunity to think with her again. -- Denny Taylor, Hofstra University, USA The interwoven strands of Finnegan's life-work are here focused, unremittingly, on one question: where is language? The book marks the epochal moment when language, the pillar which sustained three centuries of Western intellectual, political, economic power, gives way to near total uncertainty. Finnegan shows us possible paths for a fundamental rethinking. -- Gunther Kress, Institute of Education, University of London, UK A fascinating and unique insight by one of the world's greatest scholars of communication, which revisits delightfully and with compassion and renewed interest, a much-researched field through her own scholarly eyes. Fresh and unique insights lead to an enchanting and compelling read that will contribute to the re-thinking of the field of language, literature and performance. -- Kate Pahl, University of Sheffield, UK A comprehensive, compelling exploration of the intersections of language and literature, seen from all directions. Ruth Finnegan invites her readers to explore the dynamic, multiply sensorial, performances of oral and written literature, in a wide range of cultural contexts. -- Amy Shuman, Ohio University, USA As a professor, thinker, and reader, I greatly enjoyed reading Where is Language? An Anthropologist's Questions on Language, Literature and Performance by Ruth Finnegan. It was stimulating and informative. Reading about how gestures are systematically coordinated with speech and whether the boundaries of language should include them was eye-opening. ... Language is complex, but Finnegan helps us see it from a new viewpoint that includes performance and oral literature. -- Lori A. Moore Lori's Novel News Where is Language? is an impassioned corrective against [the] narrow vision of the place of language in human affairs. Finnegan wants to remind us of the embeddedness of language within broader multimodal practices. ... Folklorists, linguistic anthropologists, documentary linguists, and ethnomusicologists will find much in here that they will agree with... It is passionately and thoughtfully argued. Journal of Folklore Research

Ruth Finnegan has that priceless quality of mixing lightness and learning which is the brand of a top-notch master ... And an extraordinary scholar she certainly is ... The result is an entertaining, well-written collection, which is meant for anyone with an interest in language ... Where is Language? is a compelling book especially because of its author. Her prose and imagination are overflowing and magnificent, her stories enchanting. System Ruth Finnegan is an extraordinary scholar of great style and profundity. Trace the fields of new literacy studies, situated cognition, and story-telling, and you will find the research and writings of Ruth Finnegan. So much of her thinking has become embedded in our understandings of language, perhaps without us ever knowing her. Where is Language? is a great introduction to her scholarship and for many a welcome opportunity to think with her again. -- Denny Taylor, Hofstra University, USA The interwoven strands of Finnegan's life-work are here focused, unremittingly, on one question: where is language? The book marks the epochal moment when language, the pillar which sustained three centuries of Western intellectual, political, economic power, gives way to near total uncertainty. Finnegan shows us possible paths for a fundamental rethinking. -- Gunther Kress, Institute of Education, University of London, UK A fascinating and unique insight by one of the world's greatest scholars of communication, which revisits delightfully and with compassion and renewed interest, a much-researched field through her own scholarly eyes. Fresh and unique insights lead to an enchanting and compelling read that will contribute to the re-thinking of the field of language, literature and performance. -- Kate Pahl, University of Sheffield, UK A comprehensive, compelling exploration of the intersections of language and literature, seen from all directions. Ruth Finnegan invites her readers to explore the dynamic, multiply sensorial, performances of oral and written literature, in a wide range of cultural contexts. -- Amy Shuman, Ohio University, USA As a professor, thinker, and reader, I greatly enjoyed reading Where is Language? An Anthropologist's Questions on Language, Literature and Performance by Ruth Finnegan. It was stimulating and informative. Reading about how gestures are systematically coordinated with speech and whether the boundaries of language should include them was eye-opening. ... Language is complex, but Finnegan helps us see it from a new viewpoint that includes performance and oral literature. -- Lori A. Moore Lori's Novel News

Ruth Finnegan is an extraordinary scholar of great style and profundity. Trace the fields of new literacy studies, situated cognition, and story-telling, and you will find the research and writings of Ruth Finnegan. So much of her thinking has become embedded in our understandings of language, perhaps without us ever knowing her. Where is Language? is a great introduction to her scholarship and for many a welcome opportunity to think with her again. -- Denny Taylor, Hofstra University, USA The interwoven strands of Finnegan's life-work are here focused, unremittingly, on one question: where is language? The book marks the epochal moment when language, the pillar which sustained three centuries of Western intellectual, political, economic power, gives way to near total uncertainty. Finnegan shows us possible paths for a fundamental rethinking. -- Gunther Kress, Institute of Education, University of London, UK A fascinating and unique insight by one of the world's greatest scholars of communication, which revisits delightfully and with compassion and renewed interest, a much-researched field through her own scholarly eyes. Fresh and unique insights lead to an enchanting and compelling read that will contribute to the re-thinking of the field of language, literature and performance. -- Kate Pahl, University of Sheffield, UK A comprehensive, compelling exploration of the intersections of language and literature, seen from all directions. Ruth Finnegan invites her readers to explore the dynamic, multiply sensorial, performances of oral and written literature, in a wide range of cultural contexts. -- Amy Shuman, Ohio University, USA As a professor, thinker, and reader, I greatly enjoyed reading Where is Language? An Anthropologist's Questions on Language, Literature and Performance by Ruth Finnegan. It was stimulating and informative. Reading about how gestures are systematically coordinated with speech and whether the boundaries of language should include them was eye-opening. ... Language is complex, but Finnegan helps us see it from a new viewpoint that includes performance and oral literature. -- Lori A. Moore Lori's Novel News

Ruth Finnegan is an extraordinary scholar of great style and profundity. Trace the fields of new literacy studies, situated cognition, and story-telling, and you will find the research and writings of Ruth Finnegan. So much of her thinking has become embedded in our understandings of language, perhaps without us ever knowing her. Where is Language? is a great introduction to her scholarship and for many a welcome opportunity to think with her again. -- Denny Taylor, Hofstra University, USA The interwoven strands of Finnegan's life-work are here focused, unremittingly, on one question: where is language? The book marks the epochal moment when language, the pillar which sustained three centuries of Western intellectual, political, economic power, gives way to near total uncertainty. Finnegan shows us possible paths for a fundamental rethinking. -- Gunther Kress, Institute of Education, University of London, UK A fascinating and unique insight by one of the world's greatest scholars of communication, which revisits delightfully and with compassion and renewed interest, a much-researched field through her own scholarly eyes. Fresh and unique insights lead to an enchanting and compelling read that will contribute to the re-thinking of the field of language, literature and performance. -- Kate Pahl, University of Sheffield, UK A comprehensive, compelling exploration of the intersections of language and literature, seen from all directions. Ruth Finnegan invites her readers to explore the dynamic, multiply sensorial, performances of oral and written literature, in a wide range of cultural contexts. -- Amy Shuman, Ohio University, USA

Author Information

Ruth Finnegan is Emeritus Professor at the Open University, UK.

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