³ ~socgum1.13 º UP: <[LINK]> ³

³ The object of study in Gumperz's º NEXT: open ³

³ work is verbal interaction. º <[LINK] - ³

Gumperz aligns with Hymes in embracing the ethnomethodological

approach, which is oriented toward understanding emic societal

constructs by means of studying interactions within a community

rather than positions or intuitions of individuals within

communities <[LINK] -interact> He writes that "Verbal

interaction is a process in which utterances are selected in

accordance with socially recognized norms and expectations."

Following in the footsteps of phenomenologists, Gumperz finds

this social recognition to be part and parcel of the interactions

themselves. {<[LINK]> (Gumperz 1972b "The Speech Community" 219)}

His chief assumption is that the community determines the

individual, who is then free to interact with other communally

determined individuals in communally determined, and therefore

predictable, ways. By focusing on synchronic analysis, he can

leave unattended issues of whether or not individual actions can

change social norms over time. (see <[LINK]> for more on

synchrony/diachrony)