Words Matter: Meaning and Power

Author:   Sally McConnell-Ginet (Cornell University, New York)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
ISBN:  

9781108445900


Pages:   275
Publication Date:   27 August 2020
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
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Words Matter: Meaning and Power


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Overview

History and current affairs show that words matter - and change - because they are woven into our social and political lives. Words are weapons wielded by the powerful; they are also powerful tools for social resistance and for reimagining and reconfiguring social relations. Illustrated with topical examples, from racial slurs and sexual insults to preferred gender pronouns, from ethnic/racial group labels to presidential tweets, this book examines the social contexts which imbue words with potency. Exploring the role of language in three broad categories - establishing social identities, navigating social landscapes, and debating social and linguistic change - Sally McConnell-Ginet invites readers to examine critically their own ideas about language and its complicated connections to social conflict and transformation. Concrete and timely examples vividly illustrate the feedback loop between words and the world, shedding light on how and why words can matter.

Full Product Details

Author:   Sally McConnell-Ginet (Cornell University, New York)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 21.50cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 14.00cm
Weight:   0.410kg
ISBN:  

9781108445900


ISBN 10:   110844590
Pages:   275
Publication Date:   27 August 2020
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  General/trade ,  Professional & Vocational ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

Getting Started; 1. Labeling: “What are you, anyway?”; 2. Marking/Erasing: “Instead of saying 'normal Americans', you can just say 'Americans'”; 3. Generalizing: “All the Women were White, All the Blacks were Men, but Some of Us were Brave”; 4. Addressing: “All right, my man...keep your hands on the steering wheel; 5. Putting Down: “[They] aren't people – they're animals”; 6. Reforming/Resisting: “It's like a kind of sexual racism”; 7. Authorizing: “When I use a word it means just what I choose it to mean...[but who] is to be master?”; 8. Concluding.

Reviews

'Writing from her own experience, McConnell-Ginet shares valuable insights from scholars and experts, ceding authority to others who can add their expertise to her work. This is academic writing at its best and its most generous. Both timely and timeless.' R. Shapiro, Choice


Author Information

Sally McConnell-Ginet is Professor Emerita of Linguistics at Cornell University and a Past President of the Linguistic Society of America.

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