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Generics in society

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 August 2021

Susan A. Gelman Open the ORCID record for Susan A. Gelman [Opens in a new window]
Susan A. Gelman*
Affiliation:
University of Michigan, USA
*
Address for correspondence: Susan A. Gelman, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI48109-1043, USAgelman@umich.edu
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Abstract

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)*

Type
Articles
Information
Language in Society , Volume 50 , Special Issue 4: The Generic , September 2021 , pp. 517 - 532
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

*

I thank Chip Zuckerman for feedback on an earlier draft of this article, and the John Templeton Foundation for financial support.

References

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