A lively linguistic exploration of the speech habits we love to hate--and why our likes and literallys actually make us better communicators Paranoid about the ums and uhs that pepper your presentations? Concerned that people notice your vocal fry? Bewildered by hella or the meteoric rise of so? What if these features of our speech weren\'t a sign of cultural and linguistic degeneration, but rather, some of the most dynamic and revolutionary tools at our disposal? In Like, Literally, Dude , linguist Valerie Fridland shows how we can re-imagine these forms as exciting new linguistic frontiers rather than our culture\'s impending demise.
Like, Literally, Dude celebrates the dynamic, ongoing, and empowering evolution of language, and it will speak to anyone who talks, or listens, inspiring them to communicate dynamically and effectively in their daily lives..
Language change is natural, built into the language system itself, and we wouldn\'t be who we are without it.
It explains how filled pauses benefit both speakers and listeners; how the use of dude can help people bond across social divides; why we\'re always trying to make our intensifiers ever more intense; as well as many other language tics, habits, and developments.
By exploring the dark corners every English teacher has taught us to avoid, Like, Literally, Dude redeems our most pilloried linguistic quirks, Arguing that they are fundamental to our social, professional, and romantic success--perhaps even more so than our clothing or our resumes.
She teaches us that language is both function and fashion, and that though we often blame the young, the female, and the uneducated for its downfall, we should actually thank them for their linguistic ingenuity.
With delightful irreverence and expertise built over two decades of research, Fridland weaves together history, psychology, science, and laugh-out-loud anecdotes to explain why we speak the way we do today, and how that impacts what our kids may be saying tomorrow.
A lively linguistic exploration of the speech habits we love to hate--and why our likes and literallys actually make us better communicators Paranoid about the ums and uhs that pepper your presentations? Concerned that people notice your vocal fry? Bewildered by hella or the meteoric rise of so? What if these features of our speech weren\'t a sign of cultural and linguistic degeneration, but rather, some of the most dynamic and revolutionary tools at our disposal? In Like, Literally, Dude , linguist Valerie Fridland shows how we can re-imagine these forms as exciting new linguistic frontiers rather than our culture\'s impending demise
