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Language and Symbolic Power Reprint Edition

by Pierre Bourdieu (Author)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
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This volume brings together Pierre Bourdieu’s highly original writings on language and on the relations among language, power, and politics. Bourdieu develops a forceful critique of traditional approaches to language, including the linguistic theories of Saussure and Chomsky and the theory of speech-acts elaborated by Austin and others. He argues that language should be viewed not only as a means of communication but also as a medium of power through which individuals pursue their own interests and display their practical competence.

Drawing on the concepts that are part of his distinctive theoretical approach, Bourdieu maintains that linguistic utterances or expressions can be understood as the product of the relation between a “linguistic market” and a “linguistic habitus.” When individuals use language in particular ways, they deploy their accumulated linguistic resources and implicitly adapt their words to the demands of the social field or market that is their audience. Hence every linguistic interaction, however personal or insignificant it may seem, bears the traces of the social structure that it both expresses and helps to reproduce.

Bourdieu’s account sheds fresh light on the ways in which linguistic usage varies according to considerations such as class and gender. It also opens up a new approach to the ways in which language is used in the domain of politics. For politics is, among other things, the arena in which words are deeds and the symbolic character of power is at stake.

This volume, by one of the leading social thinkers in the world today, represents a major contribution to the study of language and power. It will be of interest to students throughout the social sciences and humanities, especially in sociology, politics, anthropology, linguistics, and literature.

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  1. ISBN-10
    0674510410
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0674510418
  3. Edition
    Reprint
  4. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  5. Publication date
    December 12, 1999
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    6.12 x 0.8 x 9.25 inches
  8. Print length
    320 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“A perspective that is both skeptical and empirical, broad yet subtle, engaged and insightful.”―Dell Hymes, University of Virginia

About the Author

Pierre Bourdieu was a French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press; Reprint edition (December 12, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674510410
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674510418
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.12 x 0.8 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 51 ratings

About the authors

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Previous page
  1. Pierre Bourdieu

    Pierre Bourdieu

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    Pierre Bourdieu (1930–2002) was one of the most influential social scientists of the twentieth century. A professor of sociology at the Collège de France, he is the author of thirty-six books, including Distinction, named one of the twentieth century’s ten most important works of sociology.

    See more on the author's page
  2. John B. Thompson

    John B. Thompson

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    John B. Thompson is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Cambridge and Emeritus Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
51 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

thatisnotmyfault
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent condition
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2021
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Almost brand new! Love it!
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Lara
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!
Reviewed in the United States on February 7, 2013
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Pierre Bourdieu is mind-blowing in all of his writing, but this is easily one of my favorites! The title gives you a good indication about the content of the book. If you purchase it, you won't be able to put it down before you finish reading it. I confess that even after that I re-read it several times. Yes, it's THAT good!
13 people found this helpful
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Matt McCloud
5.0 out of 5 stars abstract but has a lot of potential
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2001
This book will most likely not appeal to US students in linguistics. Because Bourdieu deals with rather abstract concepts which cover a lot of social ground (e.g., symbolic, cultural, economic capital, field, etc.)and not enough linguistic ground, some linguists will have trouble applying concepts to the actual production of speech at the phonological, morpho-syntactic, pragmatic and discourse level. He never really deals with actual production of language by speakers, so it creates a lot of work for the reader to fill in the details of what, for example, an actual linguistic habitus might look like, what its dispositions might be, and how they might be coordinated in their habitus set.
However, unlike many US linguists, he assumes there is an empirical connection between language use and larger social domains; furthermore, he is able to explain the way power often operates through exclusion and devaluation (dialect analysis). One of the less abstract chapters, the chapter on Searle, is excellent. Bourdieu accurately locates the efficacy of the speech act, not in the functional form of the utterances, such as christening, ordering, requesting, etc., but in the recognition by all involved that the agent who produces the speech act has the right to be obeyed and that the material circumstances of the speech act are appropriate. Mary Jane down the street and the mayor of NY may christen a new warship using the exact same functional words, but the power of those words depends on our recognition that, in this example, the mayor, not just anybody, has the authority to name. Bourdieu masterfully argues this point, and I would recommend reading that chapter first for its accessibility and accuracy in pointing out that the extra-linguistic is as much linguistic as the linguistic.
69 people found this helpful
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Sea Turtle
5.0 out of 5 stars For you to know... if
Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018
I came across this work in the library of the Institute of Education at London’s UCL. I also found a pdf download online.
As anyone familiar with Bourdieu would expect, the reader would find many illuminating insights. I consider this an essential title for those who participate in dialogue concerning contemporary society.
One person found this helpful
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Professor Lust
4.0 out of 5 stars Sociology and Language
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2003
Bourdieu's point is not to explore linguistics but rather to explore the larger impact that language has on shaping symbols, meaning and power in the social context. Symbolic interactionists and conflict theorists would probally find this book to be a great read.
26 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

priscila ribeiro prado barrros
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in Canada on September 28, 2022
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Bourdieu is a great scholar
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Suzy D
5.0 out of 5 stars Really interesting. Didn't know anything about all this until ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2014
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Really interesting. Didn't know anything about all this until I studied Foucault. An enlightening read, if not a bit repetitive.
2 people found this helpful
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ANN
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 11, 2017
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Good analysis
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melyssa
3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
Reviewed in Canada on March 4, 2021
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The media could not be loaded.
 I’m disappointed in the condition of the book as I paid 61$. The book is covered in scratches and knicks as well as black spots on the bottom. For such an expensive book the condition should be much better.
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