Natural Causes of Language: Frames, Biases, and Cultural Transmission

N J Enfield

Saint Philip Street Press

<p>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.\nWhether 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.</p>

How We Talk

Science & Math

Evolution

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Books by N J Enfield

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by N J Enfield. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Natural Causes of Language: Frames, Biases, and Cultural Transmission

How We Talk