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Abstract
In his critical essay, Joel Sherzer (1978) discusses several theoretical and methodological issues concerning the ethnography of speaking. However, he does not address the question of the theory of the method Hymes advocates. This is the topic of the present paper. I will attempt to analyze the type of ethnography Hymes suggests be used in the “ethnography of communication”;. By “theory of ethnography”; I refer to the set of theoretical propositions used to define “what is ethnography”;, both by Hymes and other anthropologists.
The paper will first set a contrast between two major variations in Hymes’ writing on the subject. An explanation will then be suggested for what appears to be a shift in Hymes’ concerns. Finally, a few questions will be raised about the pertinence of Hymes’ present position.