'Why We Talk Funny.' The reasons behind our accents, with Valerie Fridland

About this episode

This episode features an interview with linguist Valerie Fridland discussing her book on the history and social implications of American accents.

1179. This week, we talk to Valerie Fridland, a linguist and professor who grew up in Memphis surrounded by Southern accents and now researches the history and social power of speech. We look at her new book, "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents," which explores the history of how American speech developed and how colonial settlement patterns shaped regional identities. Then we look at the decline of regional accents, the mechanics of speech sounds like "L" and "R," and the psychological impact of accent bias. Get Valerie’s new book, " Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents." More from Valerie at valeriefridland.com 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in  Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my  LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the  newsletter . 🔗  Take  our advertising survey . 🔗  Get the edited  transcript here . 🔗  Get  Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer: Dan Feierabend Director of…

People in this episode

Host: Mignon Fogarty

Guest: Valerie Fridland

Topics covered

• accents
• linguistics
• regional speech
• speech sounds
• accent bias
• cultural identity

Keywords

• accents
• linguistics
• speech history
• regional identity
• accent bias
• Valerie Fridland

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: QuickAndDirtyTips.com, Grammar Girl, Acast

Books & works: Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents

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