Twelve articles by leading linguists and linguistic anthropologists develop an important series of case studies that show how ideas such as "responsibility, " "agency, " "authority, " and "evidence" are simultaneously aspects of social meaning and implications of linguistic form. The studies show how speakers attribute responsibility for acts and situations, how particular forms of language and discourse relate to claims and disclaimers of responsibility, and how verbal acts are themselves social acts, subject to such attributions. This book will serve as a landmark volume in the study and analysis of oral discourse.