Valerie Fridland, "Why We Talk Funny"

Valerie Fridland, "Why We Talk Funny"

July 14, 2026 · 1h 13m

About this episode

Valerie Fridland discusses her book on the evolution of human speech and the significance of accents and dialects in America.

After 47 years of C-SPAN televising the Congress of United States, we feel there is no better place to hear accents and dialects of the American people 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In her book "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents," Valerie Fridland promises to unlock "the secrets of what linguistic science, psychology and history tell us about the evolution of human speech." Valerie Fridland teaches in the Great Courses series at the University of Nevada, Reno. She did her undergraduate work at Georgetown in 1990 and received her PhD from Michigan State in 1998. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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