Defining Key Terms
In Invitation to Sociology (1962: Penguin - ch. 4) Peter Berger uses a wide range of expressions and structures that serve to define concepts in formal English.
They can be divided into three general groups as examples of structures used in exploring and arriving at definitions:
Expressions used to indicate what a term generally means
or represents
- p94: "The concept of stratification refers to...."
- "To say this more simply, stratification means...."
- p95: "The concept of class,....., has been defined as....."
- ".....it is sufficient to understand class as a type of.... in which...."
Expressions used in certain contexts or circumstances,
or by certain people in relation to a particular context, circumstance, professional
orientation or even ideology.
- p95: "Max Weber has defined class in terms of....."
- p100: "A commonly used concept in sociology is that of the definition of situation. First coined by....W.I. Thomas, it means..... In other words,...."
- p104: "A useful sociological concept.... is that of ‘institution’. An institution is commonly defined as..... Thus we can speak of..... Gehlen conceives of an institution as a regulatory agency....
Language used to give personal definitions, followed by categorical terms:
"To me, a politician is a ...."
Here is a summary of the most useful patterns:
- X uses the term Y (to refer to/denote/mean something)
- The term X refers to or denotes Y (in a particular context/profession/ideology)