Resumen de A woman’s role in constructing status hierarchies: using honorific language in Pohnpei, Micronesia

Elisabeth Keating

• This paper examines howpower and Status relations are created and negotiated through honorific language among the Pohnpeian people of Micronesia.

  It argues that women play a crucial role in constructing and legitimizing Status asymmetries. Excerpts from transcripts of videotaped interactions are shown to illustrate how women play an active role in structuring social space according to rank, and in shaping and mediating interpretations of ongoing interaction