Writing Ethnographic Records—Purposes and Stylistic Composition

Abstract

In ethnographic recordings, observations, personal impressions, and individual experiences are described to introduce and to enable readers to comprehend significant occurrences and aspects of a studied culture. In this article I explore the possibilities of linguistic and stylistic composition in ethnographic recordings in order to express adequately and precisely what was observed, listened to, experienced and/or perceived within the framework of field research. For this purpose, I present essential stylistic devices (e. g., forms of speech reproduction and multiplicity of voices, metaphorical language, or stylistic interplays), and exemplify their use in ethnological and sociological text examples.