valerie: I'm convinced that the subtle cues that you can put in through emojis are really helpful. i'd love to get your take on the very ungrammatical name of this podcast think fast talk smart do we get a failing grade in from a linguist oh no you definitely give an a plus well first of all it's really not ungrammatical so if we were outside in tahoe and 20 feet of snow and i threw a snowball at you and i said think fast it would be completely appropriate. Sometimes listening is sometimes more important than speaking because a lot of people want to hear themselves talk but very few people want to answer the questions they're asked. If you
We’re often advised not to use “um” or “uh”, or “so” and “you know” in our communication. But linguist Valerie Fridland might argue otherwise. “Language is about how we encode both the linguistic message and a social message,” she says. “Crutch words … are really valuable and they have arisen to serve a need.”
In this episode of Think Fast, Talk Smart: the podcast, Fridland sits down with host and strategic communications lecturer Matt Abrahams to discuss how and when we use "you know","so", and other filler words. For example, Fridland says, the way we use “um” varies greatly from how and we might use “uh.” And the use of “like,” while deplored by many, actually serves a linguistic function and can provide context and background for a listener.
She and Matt also discuss the social linguistic function of vocal fry and whether emojis have a place in business communication.
Fridland is a professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Nevada. She's an expert on the relationship between language and society and recently released a new book, Like Literally Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English.
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