Through combination of theory and research from discourse linguistics and linguistic anthropology, this course examines (i) how culture shapes ways of speaking; (ii) how language constructs identities, dispositions, role relations; and (iii) what challenges people from different cultures may face when they communicate with each other. The following analytical perspectives will be presented: speech act theory, ethnography of communication, linguistic politeness, and sequential organization of turn taking. This course is offered as both AAS 370 and LIN 370.