Frontmatter -- Preface -- Contents -- Chapter 1. Finding a mold for a general theory - Toward a methodological fusion of the sociocultural and cognitive dimensions of language -- Chapter 2. Man's sociocultural capacities and the essence of ethnic identity - Language as a variable in processes of identification -- Chapter 3. The world of signs and symbols - The interpretation of human relations in the real world by means of language and other sign systems -- Chapter 4. Communicative competence and the processing of meaning - The cognitive dimension of language -- Chapter 5. Interaction and the production of speech - The sociocultural dimension of language -- Chapter 6. Human relations in community life - The reflection of cultural patterns in language and linguistic structures -- Chapter 7. Principles of language and structural resources of natural languages - Elements of a bioprogram of linguistic diversity -- Bibliography -- Subject Index -- Index of Names -- Backmatter