Why we sound the way we do, answered in Why We Talk Funny

💡 Ever wondered why your foreign friend finds it so hard to pronounce the distinctive Arabic ‘ein’ sound? Or why certain words sound inappropriate to you, but not to someone else? We’ve all been there. Linguist Valerie Fridland’s Why We Talk Funny explains exactly why — and so much more — diving into the sociolinguistics of sounds, languages, dialects, accents, and every little thing in between.

What to expect: A sociolinguistics expert, Fridland gets into the unexpected nitty-gritty of accents and the sounds we make when we talk. She takes readers on a journey we’re all familiar with but rarely stop to think about: the subconscious development of our phonetics and the many ways we come to associate certain sounds and speech patterns with different social groups. From babbling vowel sounds as a baby to fully mastering our native tongue, she unpacks the mechanics behind why we pronounce sounds differently across languages — and why those tiny differences can matter far more than we might think.

What we liked: If you’re a bit of a language nerd, this is very much your book. If not, the concentrated scientific look at sounds and language patterns might lose you a little. That said, Fridland makes the most out of 300 pages of sociolinguistic explanations. She’s funny in all the right places and invites readers to interact with the text, occasionally asking them to try out pronunciations for themselves and weaving in anecdotes to keep things engaging.

We particularly enjoyed the Sound Bite chapters, where Fridland goes on deep-dive tangents into popular questions about language — like why “moist” makes some of us cringe or why some languages sound more beautiful than others.

Our verdict: Why We Talk Funny is the comprehensive book about language, history, and sociology that you didn’t know you needed. The further you get into the book, the heavier its seemingly light premise becomes — you’ll learn how the way we sound dictates social hierarchies and class differences, divides us, and yet somehow brings us together, too. It’s an accessible read with plenty to think about and chew on, leaving you with an entirely new perspective.

WHERE TO GET IT- You can find the eBook version on Amazon and Kobo.