Native Latin American Cultures Through Their Discourse

The essays, most of them in the tradition of anthropological study of folklore, expand the current boundaries of the discipline and provide additional case studies to a growing literature in discourse analysis of oral performance. Dan Ben-Amos Native Latin American Cultures through Their Discourse examines discursive practices, primarily in narrative and ceremonial texts, to reveal the relationship of language, culture, society, and the individual. The linguistic perspective of the essays is complemented by semiotic, psychological, and historical interpretations. Authors examine weeping, double-talk, community-building, music, myth, humor and play, and concepts of time and history in various native Latin American communities. The contributors are Ellen B. Basso, Janet Wall Hendricks, Jane H. Hill, Jonathan D. Hill, John H. McDowell, Susan Paulson, and Joel Sherzer.