| International Standard Book Number |
9780593830499
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| International Standard Book Number |
9780593830482
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| International Standard Book Number |
0593830482
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| Dewey Decimal Classification Number |
414/.6
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| Personal Name |
Fridland, Valerie, author. aut http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut
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| Title Statement |
Why we talk funny : the real story behind our accents / Valerie Fridland.
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| Imprint |
New York, NY : Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, [2026]
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| Physical Description |
306 pages ; 24 cm
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| Bibliography, Etc. Note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-287) and index.
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| Formatted Contents Note |
Baby steps -- Our origin story -- Sound bite: Hate moist? Join the club -- Linguistic (R)-evolutionary -- The divided tongue of a divided nation -- Sound bite: A lost colony and a lost language -- Classing it up -- What color is your accent? -- Strangers within the linguistic gates -- Sound bite: What makes a language beautiful? -- Conclusion: Accent-uating the positive.
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| Summary, Etc. |
"A fun, smart and surprising dive into the past, present and future of accents--and the enduring power of sounding different. Accents have long held our fascination; As far back as the 7th Century BCE, Egyptian pharaohs experimented with babies to test out theories about the 'original' accent and the Old Testament relays how a small difference in the pronunciation of 's' became a fatal litmus test of tribal belonging. Still today, from dinner parties to job interviews, you'll find people kicking up dust about things like where and how to pronounce a 't,' as in, never in 'often,' but with proper British poshness, as in 't(y)une.' In Why We Talk Funny, linguist Valerie Fridland unlocks the secrets of what linguistic science, psychology and history can tell us about the evolution of human speech, why accents develop, and how they shape our professional and social lives. With a healthy dose of her signature humor and captivating anecdotes, Fridland explores how the twin forces of physiology and psychology along with the need to fit in changes the trajectory of speech over languages and lifetimes, diving deep into the history and social forces driving the way people talk. Along the way, she emphasizes that accents don't always set us apart, they can also bring us together. Whether it's the accent that hints at your hometown, your group, your social status or your ethnicity, the sounds we say reveal a lot about who we are and where we've been--even for those who might think they have no accent at all. The story of language is the story of humanity, and as Fridland reminds us, the funny sounds we make--whether from the mouths of ancient ancestors or the tongues of screenbound teens--all come from the same powerful desire to communicate and belong. Why We Talk Funny will change the way you think about your own accent--and transform the way you listen to the sounds of others"-- Provided by publisher.
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| Summary, Etc. |
An examination of the origins, development, and social significance of accents, drawing on linguistics, psychology, and history. Traces human interest in accent and dialect from ancient civilizations through the present day, exploring the physiological and psychological forces that shape how people speak. Topics covered include the role of accents in social identity, group belonging, professional life, and ethnic and regional affiliation. The author argues that accents function both as markers of difference and as sources of connection among speakers.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Accents and accentuation History.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Accents et accentuation Histoire.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Oral communication Social aspects.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Sociolinguistics.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
linguistics.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Communication orale Aspect social.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Sociolinguistique.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Linguistique.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
LANGUAGE STUDY / General.
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| Index Term-Genre/Form |
Documents d'information.
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| Index Term-Genre/Form |
Informational works.
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