Valerie Fridland with Matt Abrahams

Why do accents develop, and how do they shape our professional and social lives? Valerie Fridland explores the history, science, and power of accents.

About the Book 

That long-running debate with your friend over the pronunciation of the word “marry”? It’s nothing new. Accents have long held our fascination. Almost three thousand years ago, Egyptian pharaohs tested out theories about the “original” accent. The Old Testament relays how a small difference in the pronunciation of s became a fatal litmus test of belonging: a story echoed in our own era, when Rafael Trujillo’s soldiers identified and then murdered their Creole-speaking victims based on their pronunciation of r in the Spanish word for parsley.

In Why We Talk Funny, linguist Valerie Fridland uses the tools of her own field, as well as those of psychology and history, to explore the evolution of human speech, why accents develop, and how they shape our professional and social lives. With plenty of  her signature humor and captivating anecdotes, Fridland shows us how the sounds humans make—whether from the mouths of ancient ancestors or screenbound teens—all come from the same powerful desire to communicate and to belong.

Whether your accent hints at your hometown, your class, or your ethnicity, the sounds we utter reveal a lot about who we are and where we’ve been—even if you think you speak with no accent at all. (You do!) Fridland tells the story of language as the story of humanity. By definition, it’s your story, too. 

About the Speakers 

Valerie Fridland is a professor of linguistics in the English Department at the University of Nevada, Reno. She writes a popular language blog on Psychology Today called “Language in the Wild,” and is also a professor for The Great Courses series.

Matt Abrahams is a lecturer in Organizational Behavior at Stanford GSB. He has decades of experience as an educator, author, podcast host, and coach. He teaches popular classes in strategic communication and effective virtual presenting. He received Stanford GSB’s Alumni Teaching Award in recognition of his teaching students around the world. Outside of the classroom, Matt is a sought-after keynote speaker and communication consultant. He has helped countless presenters improve and hone their communication, including some who have delivered IPO road shows as well as Nobel Prize, TED, and World Economic Forum presentations. He also consults for the United Nations Secretary General’s Strategic Planning and Communication Group. His online talks garner millions of views and he hosts the popular, award-winning podcast Think Fast, Talk Smart The Podcast. His new book Think Faster, Talk Smarter: How to Speak Successfully When You’re Put on the Spot provides tangible, actionable skills to help even the most anxious of speakers succeed when speaking spontaneously, such as navigating Q&A sessions, shining in job interviews, providing effective feedback, making small talk, fixing faux pas, persuading others. His previous book Speaking Up without Freaking Out: 50 Techniques for Confident and Compelling Presenting has helped thousands of people manage speaking anxiety and present more confidently and authentically.

ACCESSIBILITY: We never want cost to be a barrier to admission for our community. Please email events [at] keplers [dot] org if you would like to attend this event but cannot afford a ticket. To request an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for this event, please email events [at] keplers [dot] org at least one week prior to the event.
REFUND POLICY: We will refund your ticket up to 7 days before the event.
We want Kepler’s to be a welcoming and comfortable space for everyone. If you are feeling unwell, especially with respiratory symptoms, please stay home. Thank you for helping us create a safe and considerate environment for our community.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Kepler's Literary Foundation