" . . . excellent example . . . significant contribution . . . an important interdisciplinary work . . . " —Middle East Journal " . . . an important contribution to aspects of Iranian social communication and interpersonal verbal behavior." —Language By showing the reader the intricacies of face-to-face sociolinguistic interaction, William Beeman provides a key to understanding Iranian social and political life. Beeman's study in cross-cultural linguistics will clearly be a model for the study of different languages and cultures.