Reviewed by Mark J. Elson, University of Virginia

There is no exaggeration in the publisher’s claim (front flap) that this is the most comprehensive account of Danish segmental and prosodic phonology in any language. It is a monumental piece of work: another worthy addition to Oxford’s fine series The phonology of the world’s languages. The five parts of the volume include: ‘Introduction and contrastive units’ (3–106), ‘Distinctive features and segment types’ (107–70), ‘The sonority syllable and phonotactics’ (171–248), ‘Syllables, schwa-assimilation and prosody’ (249–348); and ‘Word structure and its relation to prosody’ (349–513). The book concludes with an epilogue on sentence phonology (514–42), two appendices (543–47), a list of references (548–62), and three indices (563–96).

Part 1 (Chs. 1–2), which includes introductory sociolinguistic, historical, areal, and genetic commentary on Danish, provides a summary of previous studies. It concludes with a lengthy treatment of the phonemes of the language, prefaced by preliminary remarks in which the author, Hans Basbøll, summarizes his theoretical and organizational assumptions. Some of these assumptions may not find universal acceptance but in no way diminish the discussion (e.g. the phoneme as a unit of surface contrast, the existence of a phonemic as well as a morphophonemic level, the inclusion in morphophonemic representations of any surface segment that does not alternate, the rejection of a biunique relationship between the phonemic and phonetic levels).

In Part 2 (Chs. 3–5), B develops his view of distinctive features, adopting the position of strict binarism (i.e. a feature is specified as plus or minus). He applies these features to Danish phonemes and offers a full discussion of the phenomenon of r-coloring (i.e. the effect of r on a contiguous vowel). The remaining chapters (Chs. 6–16) include a detailed discussion of B’s conception of the syllable and his assumptions relating to the syllabification of Danish words, in which phonotactic as well as certain prosodic phenomena (including stød, a syllable prosody manifested by laryngealization) are discussed. B’s model of the syllable is original, based an approach that he terms general-phonetic deductivism (175). The result, the sonority syllable model, relies on phonetic principles that are not language specific, and thus B’s model differs significantly from other approaches, which frequently proceed from the facts of one or more languages. The discussion then turns to the phonology of word-level phenomena (including derivation and inflection) and features a comprehensive analysis of the occurrence of stød. B introduces his theory of grammatical morphemes (354–57), which he terms graded productivity (351), claiming that it ‘allows a simple unified account of the main distribution of the Modern Danish stød’ (351).

B’s book, unlike others in the series, does not adopt feature geometry or metrical theory as its primary descriptive framework, and as a result, despite a great amount of factual information, this volume makes fewer demands on the reader than previous analyses. The original theories of the syllable and grammatical morphemes render this book of potential interest beyond the area of Danish phonology. Even those with no background in Danish or the Germanic languages will find it readily accessible.

Reviewed by Shawn Warner-Garcia, University of Texas at Austin

How is discourse used to reconstruct and remember the past? How is discursive memory used to justify actions, construct identity, and displace the other? In her book What we remember: The construction of memory in military discourse, Mariana Achugar presents an interdisciplinary approach to investigating the actions of the military during the last dictatorship in Uruguay (1973–1985). In her investigation, A pulls from traditions of discursive practice, psychology, textual analysis, and historical narrative in dissecting speeches, interviews, and other transcripts from during and after the dictatorial period. Through discourse analysis and discussions of socio-semiotic practices, A traces the development of the conflict among those who supported the dictatorship and those who disagree over how to remember and interpret the military’s actions during the dictatorship. The first eight chapters introduce the role of language as A’s primary means of investigating memory construction—A discusses several aspects of memory and remembering, which include collective memories, counter-memory, institutional memory, and the way language is used to access the past.

Ch. 2 discusses and justifies the methodology. Language is unique in that it is itself a semiotic system, although at the same time it reflects and transmits other semiotic systems as well. A uses this dual aspect of language as a way of looking at the discursive practices of the military to construct both meaning and identity on both a macro and micro level.

Chs. 3–5 investigate texts of different genres (e.g. books, newspapers, interviews) produced by the military institution as well as by its officers. These chapters discuss the different discursive tools used to construct, justify, and frame the actions of the military, including agentivity, the use of metaphor, evaluation, modality, overlexification, and passivization. A uses tables and textual analyses to illustrate how and where each of these strategies are employed.

Ch. 6 presents the opinions of those opposed to the military dictatorship (e.g. left-wing social actors and families of the disappeared) as a way of illustrating the struggle to construct memory in the public sphere. This chapter also investigates discursive tools such as transitivity, modality, evaluation, and theme. Ch. 7 analyzes a speech given by the current military commander and shows how institutional identity and memory is still being debated and reconstructed. A also illustrates how the speech is received by members of the institution and of the opposition.

The book concludes by summarizing the findings and recapping how discursive practices trace the ideological struggle over how to construct a traumatic past. After painstaking textual analysis, A ultimately concludes that the construction of the military’s memory is based on prejudice against the other and situational ethics as supported by attempts to create objective and observer-oriented reconstructions of the past. She also shows how institutional memory is interconnected with biographical memory, illustrating how memory is a social phenomenon that is part of the identity-forming and group-affiliation processes of individuals. A is quick to note that it is semiotic systems that ‘mediate between the experience and the memory of it’ (198).

Any look at historical events involves a deconstruction of how such events came to be viewed as factual or historical in the first place. A impartially explains both the complex roles of the players involved and her own stake and experience in the matter. Her reflexivity is to be applauded. She also does a good job of recreating the socio-historical contexts of all of the accounts she analyses. Although A is not always clear about her use of specific textual devices such as italics, purposeful capitalization, and underlining, she ultimately succeeds in making a compelling case for her arguments. There is an emphasis on categorizations, genres, and oppositional analysis. Her writing style, although technical, is very detail-oriented, and she tries to take nothing for granted. She supplies her own translations of the texts under scrutiny as well as the works of other scholars, and she provides the original texts in the original language in footnotes and appendices.

Reviewed by Christopher S. Doty, University of Oregon

In Selfish sounds and linguistic evolution, Nikolaus Ritt argues that language change—far from being a random, arbitrary process as normally conceived—is in fact a principled process, which is best understood within the context of Darwinian evolutionary theory. R’s framework is a direct outgrowth of the neo-Darwinian synthesis, which he thoroughly reviews (Ch. 4). Briefly, the neo-Darwinian framework posits that natural selection, rather than acting on entire species or on individual members of a species, is best conceived of as acting at the level of individual genes. Perhaps the best-known presentation of this theoretical framework is Richard Dawkins’ The selfish gene (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006). In this work, Dawkins cogently argues that genes are the primary locus of natural selection and that organisms can be likened to tools, created through millennia of selection pressure on genes to aid their own propagation. It was in this same work that Dawkins proposed the idea of the meme: a cognitive entity, parallel to the biological entity of the gene, which is capable of reproducing itself with a high degree of fidelity from one mind to another. If these memes are in fact replicators in a manner similar to genes, then it stands to reason that they might also be selected for in a Darwinian fashion.

Herein lies the foundation of R’s argument: if language can be conceived of in terms of a set of memes that replicate themselves from the minds of speakers to the minds of language learners, then one ought to expect general principles of neo-Darwinian selection to apply to language change. That is to say, language change can be thought of as the gradual replacement of various properties of the system by new variants during the process of speaker-learner transmission (i.e. language change arises as a direct results of memetic ‘mutations’). From here, R moves on to an in-depth discussion of just why language should be considered a complex, adaptive system that is parallel to other biological systems and thus subject to the same pressures (Chs. 5–6).

Perhaps the greatest contribution of this work is a first attempt at developing a methodology for identifying what ought to count as a replicator in language and thus be under the purview of selection pressures (Ch. 7). By applying this methodology to a variety of levels of language, R argues that memes are present in language from the level of individual phonemes up to the level of supresegmentals. R then turns to two case studies (Chs. 8–9) to demonstrate how this framework can provide solutions to traditionally difficult problems.

Overall, R presents a strong case for considering language change within the principled, empirical framework of neo-Darwinism and memetics. Rather than dismissing many aspects of language change as simple historical accidents, R cogently argues that understanding language as a complex biological system allows us to integrate language change within a more general conceptual framework that also includes human cognition and natural selection.

Reviewed by Anastassia Zabrodskaja, Tallinn University

Finnish and Estonian are Uralic Finno-Ugric languages, with a rich pronominal system. In Finnish, it is possible to speak about three demonstratives (tämä ‘this’, tuo ‘this’, se ‘it, s/he’) and in Estonian two (see ‘this’, too ‘that’). Depending on different sociopragmatic factors in both languages, demonstratives can be used as personal pronouns. This book looks into pronominal reference in Finnish and Estonian and presents a comprehensive study on the use of pronouns in these two closely related languages. The papers represent different linguistic subfields, from ethnomethodology to the theory of grammaticalization.

The book comprises eight papers. Marja Etelämäki describes the referential and indexical features of the Finnish demonstrative pronouns. Believing that referents in conversation are interactional entities, she shows how the Finnish demonstratives relate the referent to the ongoing context, simultaneously organizing the context. The Finnish demonstrative pronouns can be used without a nominal head in referring to human referents. Eeva-Leena Seppänen concentrates on the Finnish demonstrative tämä. She argues that demonstrative pronouns indicate the referent’s role in the speech situation’s participation framework. Ritva Laury examines the three Finnish demonstratives, whose use is not limited to the expression of type-identifiable referents. She shows the connectivity between such pronouns, the nontopical nature of the referents, and the evidentiality. Lea Laitinen’s paper presents a comparative study of the third person pronoun hän ‘s/he’. Comparing standard Finnish with nonstandard varieties of spoken Finnish, she reveals that in the former it is used only as a personal pronoun for human referents.

Renate Pajusalu’s paper is the only one dedicated to the Estonian pronouns. Using data from a spoken language corpus collected at Tartu University, she claims that the Estonian pronominal system, where concurrency between different case forms historically evolved, is striving toward the distinction of different cases. Although in the genitive the short pronoun form ta ‘it’ suits grammatically to both animate and inanimate entities, the longer pronoun forms tema ‘s/he’ and selle ‘its’ are used. On the basis of the experimental results and patterns in the corpus data Elsi Kaiser claims that hän and tämä differ in their referential properties and are sensitive to different kinds of factors. The first refers to subjects, regardless of word order, and the latter to postverbal constituents, especially objects. Outi Duvallon applies a syntactic approach to the use and interpretations of the Finnish pronoun se in spoken texts. She finds that the pronoun serves referents already introduced in the interlocutors’ center of attention, as well as captures referents whose existence is only expectable on the basis of the linguistic context. Analyzing the corpus of spoken Finnish, Päivi Juvonen focuses on both indefinite pronouns and other parts-of-speech elements. She discusses the use of the determiners in a crosslinguistic grammaticalization perspective. This book is an excellent introduction into the most innovative research on pronominal reference in Finnish and Estonian.

Reviewed by Cathryn Donohue, RSPAS, Australian National University

This collection of papers grew out of a workshop held in conjuction with the 26th German Linguistics Society annual meeting in 2004. The workshop presented the latest research on datives and similar constructions from a morphological, functional, or semantic perspective, regardless of theoretical persuasions. The collection nicely reflects this goal and provides an excellent overview of datives, particularly in German.

The volume is divided into three sections. In Section 1, Werner Abraham (3–46) provides a comprehensive overview of recent work on datives surveying different research foci and contemporary analyses.

Section 2 consists of seven papers that focus on datives in Germanic languages. Thomas McFadden (49–77) proposes that dative case assignment in German and Icelandic is generated under the specifier of the applicative phrase [Spec, ApplicativeP]. In contrast with inherent case assignment in a government and binding or principles and parameters approach, McFadden claims that morphological case interprets the output of the syntax. Similarly, Andrew McIntyre (185–212) compares datives in German with the subjects of have in English. He proposes an analysis that treats these constructions as inherently case-marked specifiers of an applicative light verb. In another work on German datives, André Meinunger (79–101) proposes a universal hierarchy of arguments (i.e. subject, indirect object, direct object, prepositional phrase, and verb: [SU[IO[DO[PP (V)]]]]), which contrasts with the popular view that there are three types of ditransitive verbs in German. Philippa Cook (141–84) presents an alternative explanation for the different unmarked orders of datives (as verb-distal or verb-close) in German ditransitives within lexical functional grammar’s lexical mapping theory. Rather than attempting to unify the data, she claims that the different orders result from different conceptual structures.

Patrick Brandt (103–39) provides a semantic analysis that unifies the syntactic parallels between double-object and experiencer datives in German (i.e. cipients). Focusing on the case of relative pronouns, Jürg Fleischer (213–38) analyzes the alignment of dative case and indirect objects in a range of German(ic) dialects and languages. Katrin Schmitz (239–68) discusses the acquisition of German dative case by monolingual German and bilingual German/French and German/Italian children. The bilingual data challenge the common assumptions about the acquisition of dative case, and Schmitz nicely accounts for the findings by appealing to both the complexity of the German case system and the influence of the Romance language.

Section 3 presents research on datives ‘Beyond Germanic: From Albanian to Tagalog’. Dalina Kallulli (271–300) examines data with unaccusative morphology from a number of Indo-European languages and proposes that the passive, anticausative, and middle constructions all result from suppression of a feature in little v. Jelena Krivokapić (301–29) explores the syntax and semantics of datives in adjectival constructions in Serbian. She analyzes bare predicative constructions within Christopher Kennedy’s general theory of the semantics of adjectives (Projecting the adjective: The syntax and semantics of gradability and comparison, PhD dissertation, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1997).

The final paper was not originally presented at the workshop but is an excellent addition to the volume. Walter Bisang (331–81) ventures outside Indo-European languages to investigate the causes of the occasional asymmetry between subjects and objects in Chinese and Japanese and to map the arguments to grammatical roles in Tagalog. He notes primary causes other than semantic roles and argumenthood and discusses problems his analyses may pose for current theoretical frameworks.

While greater space could have been devoted to non-Germanic languages, the volume is coherent, well-edited, and overall a valuable resource for those working on dative case, empirically or theoretically, from a syntactic or semantic perspective.

Reviewed by Francisco Yus, University of Alicante

Nowadays, ‘multimodality’—‘interdependence of semiotic resources in a text’, as defined by the editors—is attracting a great deal of scholarly attention. This book is an example of this growing interest. It comprises twelve papers by different authors in two parts plus the editors’ introduction. Despite the ubiquity of audio-verbal-visual media in today’s communication, it is relatively recent that the developments of the various possibilities of combining communication modes have forced scholars to think about the particular characteristics of these modes and the way they semiotically function and combine (1).

Part 1, ‘Multimodal issues’, starts with ‘In between modes: Language and image in printed media’ (Ch. 1, by Hartmut Stöckl, 9–30), in which he develops a system network for language and image relationships in printed media. These are sustained in combinations of core modes, medial variants, peripheral modes, sub-modes, and features. In ‘Modelling multiple semiotic systems: The case of gesture and speech’ (Ch. 2, by Peter Muntigl, 31–50) it is argued that linguistic and nonlinguistic semiotic systems (for instance, gestures) share properties and are even similar in grammatical structure (i.e. content and expression planes).

‘Problematising ‘semiotic resource’’ (Ch. 3, by Victor Linn Fei, 51–63) is an analysis of signs within multimodality. As in Ch. 2, it is also claimed that visual signs operate on content and expression planes, but with an emphasis on the degree of arbitrariness between these planes. In ‘Multimodality and empiricism: Preparing for a corpus-based approach to the study of multimodal meaning-making’ (Ch. 4, 65–87), John Bateman, Judy Delin, and Renate Henschel argue that current claims about multimodality are merely informal or interpretative because they are not sustained in empirical support. Therefore, the authors introduce the first steps given in an empirical direction, specifically a multimodal annotated corpus called the GeM (genre and multimodality) model.

Part 2, ‘Analyses and applications’, is devoted to innovative multimodal analyses and starts with ‘On the effectiveness of mathematics’ (Ch. 5, by Kay L. O’Halloran, 91–117), in which the evolution of the language of mathematics (from multimodal discourse to symbolic language) has had an effect on the development of descriptions of the physical world. ‘Multimodality in language teaching CD-ROMs’ (Ch. 6, by Martin Kaltenbacher, 119–36) describes the necessary verbal-visual qualities of teaching CD-ROMs in order to be effective as teaching tools.

‘The multiple modes of Dirty dancing: A cultural studies approach to multimodal discourse analysis’ (Ch. 7, by Markus Rheindorf, 137–52) deals with how different modes combine in the film Dirty dancing, concluding that dancing lies at the heart of how the protagonists build up their semiotic roles. In ‘Multimodal text analysis and subtitling’ (Ch. 8, 153–72), Christopher Taylor analyzes the role that multimodal text analysis plays in subtitling. For instance, the direct reference of text to visual parts of the film is seen as challenging for subtitling.

‘Multimodality in the translation of humour in comics’ (Ch. 9, by Klaus Kaindl, 173–92) deals with comics such as Asterix. In this study the author stresses the fact that most of the humor in comics arises from visual input, rather than from the text. Then he moves on to suggest eight different strategies for the translation of multimodal humor. ‘Multimodality in operation: Language and picture in a museum’ (Ch. 10, by Andrea Hofinger and Eija Ventola, 193–209) addresses multimodal issues in designing a museum on the life of composer Amadeus Mozart.

In ‘Drawing on theories of inter-semiotic layering to analyse multimodality in medical self-counselling texts and hypertexts’ (Ch. 11, 211–26), Eva Martha Eckkrammer addresses what she calls ‘inter-semiotic layering’ of multimodal texts. In short, verbal and visual input do not provide meaning separately, but through a combination or interaction between the semiotic modes involved. Finally, ‘On the multimodality of interpreting in medical briefings for informed consent: Using diagrams to impart knowledge’ (Ch. 12, by Kristin Bührig, 227–41) describes visual materials (for instance, diagrams and charts) and their interpretation at hospitals, where there are linguistic barriers and different levels of professional expertise.

Reviewed by Picus S. Ding, Macao Polytechnic Institute

This descriptive grammar of Wu is primarily based on the new variety spoken in urban Shanghai. Compared to previous work (e.g. Sino-Tibetan languages, ed. by Graham Thurgood & Randy J. LaPolla, London: Routledge, 2003), this monograph presents the most detailed modern account of Wu written in English.

Ch. 1 (1–4) introduces Shanghai Wu as well as a number of other varieties of Wu. Xiaonong Zhu casts the book firmly in the traditional Chinese framework—for example, Ch. 2 (5–34) describes the syllable and the phonology of Shanghai Wu in terms of the traditional Chinese linguistic concepts of initials, medials, rhymes, and finals. Ch. 3 (35–51) discusses the tone sandhi found in polysyllabic compounds (up to five syllables) and phrases. Ch. 4 (53–111), which deals with the word and morphology, addresses a number of word classes and morphological processes, including not only affixation and reduplication but also the use of particles and auxiliaries to indicate aspect and modality. Ch. 5 (113–31) is devoted to compounds: the structural relation between the formatives is analyzed under the categories of subject, verb, and object. Ch. 6 (133–81) examines the syntax of Wu, covering the word order, phrasal structure, sentence types, complex sentences, and compound sentences. Constructions such as the passive, the disposal, and topicalization are also introduced (although the causative is not mentioned). Ch. 7 (183–95) provides two annotated texts in a four-line format—Shanghai Wu in pinyin, Shanghai Wu in characters, English glosses, and a free translation in English, although no comment or discussion is made on these texts.

A striking feature of the book is the adoption of the traditional Chinese approach in lieu of modern linguistic theories. Concepts such as phoneme and word-tone are absent, while other concepts such as subject and (lexical) stress are presumed. This approach may make some readers uneasy, especially those with little knowledge about Chinese linguistics, although it is not detrimental to the description. Instead it provides an opportunity to become acquainted with the traditional Chinese grammatical framework.

In concordance with this traditional Chinese viewpoint, Z writes at the outset that ‘Chinese is a single language’ (1) and that Wu is ‘not the name of a language, but the designation for a group of Chinese dialects’ (1). However, it is necessary to point out that Wu, in the context of academic linguistic research, should be considered a language on par with Mandarin. This designation allows the large number of Wu dialects and their subdialects to be differentiated more conveniently in the discourse. Additionally, although the Shanghai Wu dialect has been greatly influenced by Mandarin—more so than other Wu dialects such as Wenzhou and Suzhou—it is usually chosen to represent the Wu language.

Reviewed by Francisco Yus, University of Alicante

Pragmatic analyses of computer-mediated communication are not as abundant as one would imagine (if we take into account the current development of pragmatic research; see my book Ciberpragmática [Cyberpragmatics], 2001 and references therein). Pragmatic analyses of the web are even less abundant, and therefore Janoschka’s book is more than welcome within pragmatic research.

As the title of the book indicates, J is interested in advertising on the web, taking communication through the web as an asynchronous form of communication whose ‘way of disseminating information corresponds to characteristics of monologue-oriented mass communication. The message-transfer is accomplished in the relation one-to-many’ (2). Specifically, web ads are small graphic images that demand the user’s active participation with a mouse click. But the overall aim of the study is to explore the new forms of communication that have emerged with the launch of this new medium and that have had some effect on the language used to communicate on the web. Besides, the analysis concentrates on ‘the linguistic means that are employed in web ads’ (3). Interestingly, for J, communication on the internet is not only interactive, but also individualized through the way in which information is produced and perceived.

As sub-aims of the book, J lists (a) the description and exploration of new dimensions and forms of online communication, (b) the analysis of written language used in online advertising communication, and (c) the analysis of the new structure and functions of online information realized by hypertexts (3–4).

Ch. 2 (‘Traditional advertising’, 8–41) serves as a contrast to the overall aim of the book, as J reviews the qualities of traditional advertising in order to highlight, later in the book, the significant differences with online advertising. By the term ‘traditional advertising’ J means not only ‘conventional advertising’, but also the so-called ‘direct advertising’ (mailings, coupon ads, etc.). In the chapter, the concept AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action) is also addressed.

Ch. 3 (‘Online advertising’, 43–81) starts with a description of the web as an ‘advertising platform’, including an analysis of different types of web pages. Their functions are also listed: to attract the users’ attention, to persuade them to activate (i.e. ‘click on’) them, and to meet the users’ expectations provoked by the advertising message. After all, on the internet the content of the web page and the advertising banners share the space on the screen, and banners compete for the user’s attention, an attention that was not primarily intended to focus on the banner (and of course the user does not intend to leave the current web page and go wherever the banner will lead).

Ch. 4 (‘Communication’, 83–120) focuses on two types of traditional communication: mass (unidirectional) and interpersonal (with mutual exchange of information). As internet communication has developed and become popular, a mesh of these forms has emerged: interactive mass communication. Ch. 5 (‘The language of web ads’, 121–58) concentrates on linguistic means and strategies employed by web ads.

Finally, Ch. 6 (‘Hyperadvertising’, 159–90) focuses on the structure of hyperadvertising, which means a brand new approach to web advertising, especially because users can now participate actively in the message-construction process by selecting which links to follow and in which order.

Overall, Web advertising is a clearly written book and a welcome contribution to the pragmatics of media communication.

Reviewed by Picus S. Ding, Macao Polytechnic Institute

Authored by Margaret Mian Yan, an expert in Chinese dialectology, this book is intended as a textbook for students interested in Chinese dialects. It consists of four chapters, each with a short section of exercises at the end. Numerous tables and fourteen maps appear throughout the volume. Ch. 1 (1–19) provides a general background of the field of Chinese dialects; specifically, how the field was established and why the term dialect is used for all varieties of the language spoken by the Han Chinese. Ch. 2 (20–42) examines the ‘Modern period of Chinese dialectology I’—specifically, studies and surveys that took place in mainland China and Taiwan from 1920 to 1990. Ch. 3 (43–59) is a continuation of the account of modern period of Chinese dialectology but focuses on dialectal projects initiated in the United States.

Ch. 4 (60–237) represents the heart of the volume: a discussion of the major dialect groups. This chapter is divided into eight sections that deal with the Mandarin and Jin dialects, the Wu dialects, the Xiang dialects, the Min dialects, the Gan dialects, the Kejia dialects, the Yue dialects, and the transitional dialects (e.g. Huiyu and Pinghua). Except for the final section, each section covers subgroupings within the particular dialect group, sounds of one or two representative dialect(s) of the group, word-initial and word-final segments, tones, and lexical differences within the dialect group as well as a list of suggested readings. The book ends with a single-page of concluding remarks. After the references, there is a summary of the phonological rules that account for the sound changes in the development of the Chinese dialects. Finally, the book concludes with an index.

This volume accurately reflects the current state of Chinese dialectology. The development of the field is recounted in such detail that possibly every twentieth century study of Chinese dialects—in both Chinese and English—is referenced. Just as readers will appreciate the diversity of the Chinese languages, they may also realize that Chinese dialectology is by and large still in its infancy: the overwhelming number of varieties has delayed a refined multilayer study of the languages (i.e. topolects) and dialects in the Sinitic family. Although mutual unintelligibility between major Chinese dialects can be ‘as great as any two languages within the Indo-European language family’ (2), this book follows the mainstream treatment and regards Chinese as a language with hundreds of varieties called dialects. Consequently, the major dialects are all organized into a single chapter.

It is a pity that there is no section on the syntactic differences of the major topolects, although several comparative works on the dialectal grammar of Chinese are included in the references. It would also be helpful if future editions would provide a table of English glosses for the Chinese data for lexical comparison.

Reviewed by Elizabeth Grace Winkler, Western Kentucky University

Jennifer Coates begins by deftly describing the history of gender research. She traces the change from the deficit/dominance approach in which women’s language was compared to men’s and found deviant, to more positive approaches that viewed differences in women’s language as reflecting different conversational goals. Recently, a broad-based approach looks at gender less as a biological binary divide than as a social construct; in other words, that gender is something we do rather than something we are.

The second chapter provides a linguistic background of ‘scholarly’ writing on women’s language going back hundreds of years on diverse topics such as differences in pronunciation and grammar, levels of literacy, and use of obscenity. Ch. 3 takes a historical look as well, yet from the viewpoint of anthropologists and dialectologists. C points out that the focus of these studies was frequently on variation in ‘primitive’ cultures, with little understanding that the same studies could have been done on their own cultures.

Chs. 4 and 5 analyze structural differences between women’s and men’s speech, specifically differences in grammar, pronunciation, and lexicon. Ch. 5 briefly looks at the importance of social networks in explaining structural variation and for evaluating why speakers in a network vary in their usage of particular forms.

In Ch. 6, C artfully discusses stylistic differences in approaches to creating meaning, for example, offering and accepting apologies and compliments, using questions and hedges, as well as swearing and gossiping. Ch. 7 focuses on how dominance in mixed-gender conversations contributes to differing approaches to turn-taking and interrupting. Ch. 8 shifts to same-sex talk and how turn-taking and question usage, along with the use of minimal responses and hedges, differ depending on whether participants are engaged in competitive or cooperative conversations.

The final section of the book deals with the causes and consequences of doing gender. C surveys research on how children develop gendered ways of using language. In the final chapter, C shows how gender differences have consequences for everyone, not just in our social lives, but at school and at work as well.

The changes made to this edition are significant enough to warrant a new review. In 1986, gender was conceptualized as binary, at least in the literature. This book encompasses a broader understanding, envisioning gender less as a physical property than ‘as something we do’ (vi.). This resulted in not just a more complex treatment of gender throughout the text, but also the addition of new chapters that reflect new directions in research, including an understanding of same-sex talk and conversational dominance, as well as gender at work.

This text is an excellent choice for either an undergraduate or graduate class in gender. Every section is easily supplemented by the very studies C introduces. The text is quite accessible yet comprehensive in scope without being shallow in content.