Language and Culture

A volume of the Oxford Introduction to Language Study series, Kramsch has written a delightful little book. There are seven chapters covering current issues in the field followed by readings, references, and a glossary. Besides its brevity and well designed layout this book also excels at clarity. Many authors try to say the same thing but in far too many words. Kramsch has managed to write a book that is an asset to the series. There is nothing new or startling in the contents of the book. Nor, given its short length, is everything from the field included. However, she has done a fine job of selecting the pertinent information that is "must know" in this field.

This intro. to culture is an excellent distillation of language and culture, suited especially for anyone who has read her previous book published by Oxford Univ. Press CONTEXT AND CULTURE. Context and Culture (C & C)has many illuminating examples from literature, speech and and media. Kramsch writes densely--every word counts--and readers will find that there is always something new to learn on every reading. It's no surprise that Widdowson, remarkable for his incredibly tight prose, was her editor. Kramsch is a razor-sharp thinker and an accomplished writer. An intellectual of the best sort. So, to best appreciate this short intro. to culture, read C & C first. To the frustrated engineering-student-teacher assistant, irritated that such simple ideas as "culture", "communication" and "understanding" are made less simple by Kramsch: Perhaps these concepts are not so simple after all.

I have been reading three books in the "Oxford Introduction to Language Study" series and to be honest I found Kramsch' book a bit less accessible than Spolsky's "Sociolinguistics" whose style was somewhat more fluent. This said, the book is still an excellent introduction to the subject. Readers should be aware that it is in the nature of an 80 page survey to condense matters (just imagine the huge amount of literature that has been written on the subject). However, students should also be aware that the terminology introduced is necessary for the study of the subject. Rather than reading 300 pages, I am more than pleased the Kramsch has succeeded in providing a clear outline in 80.