Folk Linguistics

Folk knowledge of language has not engaged linguists very often in the history of that field. Introductory texts often disparage folk-belief in contrast to "scientfic truth". In fact, language is a ubiquitous topic of discussion and general concern of the folk. They talk about grammar, pronunciation, first and second language learning, language disabilities, dialects, gender and language, and a host of other topics. This book approaches such beliefs as one of the most important aspects of ethnography. Surely what a people believe about their language is as important as any other key to an understanding of their culture.