___Groups, aggregates, and communities___________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UP: <[LINK]>
What is the difference between "groups of any permanence"
and "human aggregates"?
Interaction with a group conceptual distinctions different from identification with an aggregate. <[LINK] -:group> The contents of a group can be studied componentially through time--as membership changes, so does the definition of the group. A group, as a result, does not have an identity beyond that of its members and their interactions at any one moment in time. Gumperz and Wilson were members of the idealized group that their data attempts to capture. They were not, however, members of the aggregate definition of Kupwar Village. Aggregate identity transcends the sum of its parts at any moment--it must if it is to be as important as Gumperz claims in the role of a determinant of verbal utterances. The internal boundaries of an aggregate are not clear unless it is frozen in time and studied as a group with clear criteria for membership and nonmembership. This annuls several important interaction frames--those which remove one from or gain one entrance to the community come immediately to mind. Synchronic approaches cannot capture this.