Generics in society

This article examines two interrelated issues: (i) how considering generics within their social contexts of use contributes to theories of generics, and (ii) how contemporary work on generics provides promising directions for the study of language as an aspect of social life. Examining the function...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inLanguage in society Vol. 50; no. 4; pp. 517 - 532
Main Author Gelman, Susan A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.09.2021
Subjects
Academic writing
Children & youth
Connotation
Induction
Language
Linguistics
Philosophy
Psychology
Semantics
Social environment
Social function
Social life & customs
Sociolinguistics
Stereotypes
Treatment methods
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This article examines two interrelated issues: (i) how considering generics within their social contexts of use contributes to theories of generics, and (ii) how contemporary work on generics provides promising directions for the study of language as an aspect of social life. Examining the function of generics in meaningful interactions stands in contrast to standard treatments, which consider generics as isolated, context-free propositions. Additionally, recent psychological approaches suggest new questions that can enrich sociolinguistic and linguistic anthropological research. These include, for example, when and why generics serve not just negative functions (such as stereotyping) but also positive functions (such as meaning-making), how generics gain their power from what is unstated as opposed to stated, and how generic language distorts academic writing. Ultimately, the study of language in society has the potential to enrich the study of generics beyond what has been learned from their study in linguistics, philosophy, and psychology. (Generics, concepts, categories, stereotyping, induction)*
ISSN:0047-4045
1469-8013
DOI:10.1017/S0047404521000282