In this book, Andrew J. Strathern and Pamela J. Stewart delineate the relationship between "language in particular" and "culture in general" by focusing on language as both social practice and a means of classifying and interpreting the world. "Grounded in multitemporal ethnographic research from the Highlands of Papua New Guinea to the Highlands of Scotland and points in between, the authors explore classical and contemporary thinking pertaining to human language and culture. They present the complexities of past debates, current theories and emerging ideas about human language and culture in concise, jargon free exposition that challenges, informs and enlightens. A brilliant contribution demonstrating the best in academic scholarship. Highly recommended. - Naomi M. McPherson, University of British Columbia, Canada I recommend this book to anyone interested in the relation of language to thought, in other words, to just about everyone! The text offers a fresh and fascinating glimpse into language, in all its complexity. Language is too important to be left just to linguists. - Alan Barnard, University of Edinburgh, UK"