How we talk : the inner workings of conversation / N. J. Enfield.

How we talk : the inner workings of conversation / N. J. Enfield.

First edition.

9780465059942 (hardcover)
0465059945 (hardcover)

New York : Basic Books, 2017.

English

ix, 257 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

P302.8 .E54 2017

401/.41

"We all had teachers who scolded us over the use of um, uh-huh, oh, like, and mm-hmm. But as linguist N. J. Enfield reveals in How We Talk, these "bad words" are fundamental to language. Whether we are speaking with the clerk at the store, our boss, or our spouse, language is dependent on things as commonplace as a rising tone of voice, an apparently meaningless word, or a glance-signals so small that we hardly pay them any conscious attention. Nevertheless, they are the essence of how we speak. From the traffic signals of speech to the importance of um, How We Talk revolutionizes our understanding of conversation. In the process, Enfield reveals what makes language universally-and uniquely-human"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-243) and index.

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