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A study of interlocutor reference that significantly deepens our understanding of the ways in which self-other relations are linguistically mediated in social interaction, based on the analysis of Southeast Asian languages.
 
Terms used by speakers to refer to themselves and their interlocutors form one of the ways that language expresses, defines, and creates a field for working out social relations. Because this field of study in sociolinguistics historically has focused on Indo-European languages, it has tended to dwell on references to the addressee—for example, the choice between tu and vous when addressing someone in French. This book uses the study of Southeast Asian languages to theorize interlocutor reference more broadly, significantly deepening our understanding of the ways in which self-other relations are linguistically mediated in social interaction. As the authors explain, Southeast Asian systems exceed in complexity and nuance the well-described cases of Europe in two basic ways. First, in many languages of Southeast Asia, a speaker must select an appropriate reference form not only for other/addressee but also for self/speaker. Second, in these languages, in addition to pronouns, speakers draw upon a range of common and proper nouns including names, kin terms, and titles, in referring to themselves and the addressee. Acts of interlocutor reference, therefore, inevitably do more than simply identify the speaker and addressee; they also convey information about the proposed relation between interlocutors. Bringing together studies from both small-scale and large, urbanized communities across Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia, this is an important contribution to the regional linguistic and anthropological literature.
 

An essential introduction to the use and misuse of language within the criminal justice system, updated for a new generation.

Does everyone understand the Miranda warning? Why do people confess to a crime they did not commit? Can linguistic experts identify who wrote an anonymous threatening letter? Since its first publication, Speaking of Crime has been answering these questions. Introducing major topics and controversies at the intersection of language and law, Lawrence M. Solan, Peter M. Tiersma, and Tammy Gales apply multidisciplinary insights to examine the complex role of language within the US justice system.

The second edition features in-depth discussions of recent cases, new legislation, and innovative research advances, and includes a new chapter on who interprets the laws governing linguistic contexts. Thoroughly updated and approachable, Speaking of Crime is a state-of-the-art survey that will be useful to scholars, students, and practitioners throughout the criminal justice system.

Follows ordinary people as they move through the Algerian city of Oran, navigating the politically charged context of postcolonialism.

In this book, anthropologist Stephanie Love examines ordinary Algerians’ hope for a better future through what she calls “everyday urban poetics,” focusing on the country’s second-largest city of Oran. Examining linguistic forms including placenames, jokes, metaphors, anecdotes, and code-switches along with urban forms including monuments, buildings, and street layouts, Love shows how popular imaginaries of resistance are inscribed in Oran’s language and cityscapes.

Love argues that these everyday urban poetics constitute a street-based language that has helped Algerians find ways around oppressive censorship, reckon with painful pasts, and develop what she views as a politically fertile creative insurgency. This is particularly true in the wake of the 2019 uprising known as Hirak (“the movement”) that found Algerians challenging the legitimacy of the postcolonial regime through large-scale demonstrations and protests. Analyzing phenomena as diverse as efforts to preserve buildings and monuments, the informal renaming of streets and landmarks, and the development of women-led associations encouraging education and open discourse, Love shows how new forms of political life can be developed and sharpened in everyday speech.