Studies in Language and Social Interaction: In Honor of Robert Hopper edited by Phillip J. Glenn, Curtis D. LeBaron, and Jenny Mandelbaum. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003, pp. xi + 625.

Abstract

Studies in Language and Social Interaction: In Honor of Robert Hopper edited by Phillip J. Glenn, Curtis D. LeBaron, and Jenny Mandelbaum. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erl- baum Associates, 2003, pp. xi + 625. Reviewed by Galina Bolden University of California, Los Angeles This review is reprinted with permission, with some minor editing changes,from an issue of the LINGUIST List that is posted at http://lillguistlist.org/issues/15115- 1999.html. Studies in Language and Social Interaction presents a large collection of studies of everyday human communication conducted by scholars working within the tradition of Language and Social Interaction (LSI). LSI is an umbrella tenn traditionally applied to multidisciplinary research concerned with a wide range of phenomena related to situated language use. Within the field of communication, LSI is institutionalized in the LSI division of the regional, national, and international communication associations (e.g., the National Communication Association, the Western States Communication Association, and the International Communica- tion Association). The book is dedicated to the late Robert Hopper, a leading LSI scholar. However, according to the editors, it aims not only to celebrate Hopper's intellectual career but also to showcase the diversity of the field, and, thereby, stimulate discussion of its future developments. SUMMARY The 39 chapters of the book are divided into five parts, each preceded by an introduction. Most of the chapters present empirical studies, but there are also reviews, theoretical pieces, and chapters presenting applied research. Chapter 1 ( An Overview of Language and Social Interaction Research ), written by the editors of the volume, Curtis D. LeBaron, Jenny Mandelbaum, and Phillip J. Glenn, is an introduction to the field. In addition to providing a history of LSI within the discipline of communication, this chapter outlines major prin- ciples shared by LSI researchers. Among those are the use of naturally occurring communication as a source of data, the focus on participants' perspectives, and the interest in language use. Part I of the book, titled Orienting to the Field of Language and Social Inter- action, contains six chapters that exemplify major research traditions in the field: sociolinguistics, conversation analysis, ethnography of communication. discourse Issues in Applied Linguistics © 2002/2003, Regents of the University of California ISSN 1050-4273 VoL !3 No.2, 203·211