Enfield NJ How We Talk

<p>We all had teachers who scolded us over the use of <i>um</i>, <i>uh-huh</i>, <i>oh</i>, <i>like</i>, and <i>mm-hmm</i>. But as linguist N. J. Enfield reveals in <i>How We Talk</i>, these "bad words" are fundamental to language. <br><br>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 <i>um</i>, <i>How We Talk </i>revolutionises our understanding of conversation. In the process, Enfield reveals what makes language universally-and uniquely-human.</p>