Talk and Social Theory – Ecologies of Speaking and Listening in Everyday Life

The use of everyday examples enhances the appeal of Talk and Social Theory to a non-specialist as well as a specialist audience. Written in a clear and comprehensible way, it reviews key theoretical prospectives and conceptual frameworks in social theory and in the sociolinguistic study of talk. It concludes with an argument against overly determinist accounts of talk as social action, in the interest of better construction of social theory and better empirical study of talk.

This book will be an essential text for students of sociolinguistics and the analysis of discourse in conversation. It will also be of interest to students in sociology, anthropology, social theory, education, linguistics, applied linguistics, and anyone concerned with the nature and uses of language in social interaction.