One practice can be described truthfully in two very different ways — in the categories the participants themselves use, or in the comparative categories of the analyst. Pick a practice, then move the lens and watch the description change. Notice where the labels sit: inside the boundary, or outside it.
Where are you standing?
The circle is the boundary of the community that lives this practice. Choose a lens to see who gets to name things.
Two lenses, one practicepick a practice below
Tap a practice
Where the words come from. Kenneth Pike cut two linguistic words in half in 1954. Phone·mic = the sound contrasts that matter to speakers. Phone·tic = every sound an outside analyst can record. Keep the endings and you have two lenses on any practice.