num_pages: 238
description: Deepening our understanding of the social context of interpersonal interaction, this book examines the communication practices through which members of a particular culture construct and maintain their relationships. The author presents an ethnographic case study of urban, largely middle-class Colombians, taking a close look at interactional practices and speech patterns in a range of everyday settings--from schools, workplaces, and social service agencies, to gatherings of family and friends. In focusing on a context outside of North America and Europe, the book sheds light on cultural assumptions about personhood,relationships, and communication that often remain unexamined in the literature. A compelling epilogue offers a more personal glimpse of Colombian culture and probes both the rewards and the limitations of the ethnographic approach.
language: English
title: Speaking Relationally: Culture, Communication, and Interpersonal Connection
titlecomplete: Speaking Relationally: Culture, Communication, and Interpersonal Connection (The Guilford Series on Personal Relationships)
publisher: The Guilford Press