Speaking relationally
Subtitle: culture, communication, and interpersonal connection
By: Kristine L. Fitch.
Series: The Guilford series on personal relationships
Publisher: Guilford Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 239
Subjects: Interpersonal relations -- Colombia; Interpersonal communication -- Colombia; Culture -- Social aspects; Colombia -- Social life and customs
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.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-229) and indexes.