Um...: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean
Michael Erard$15.30
$18.00
Essential reading for talkers and listeners of all stripes: An original, entertaining, and surprising book that investigates verbal blunders: what they are, what they say about those who make them, and how and why we've come to judge them. "An enjoyable tour of linguistic mishaps." --The New York Times Book Review
Um... is about how you really speak, and why it's normal for your everyday speech to be filled with errors--about one in every ten words. In this charming, engaging account of language in the wild, linguist and writer Michael Erard also explains why our attention to some blunders rises and falls. Where did the Freudian slip come from? Why do we prize "umlessness" in speaking--and should we? And how do we explain the American presidents who are famous for their verbal stumbles?
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 08/12/2008
ISBN: 9781400095438
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 7.96h x 5.28w x 0.74d
Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 09/07/2008 pg. 24
Um... is about how you really speak, and why it's normal for your everyday speech to be filled with errors--about one in every ten words. In this charming, engaging account of language in the wild, linguist and writer Michael Erard also explains why our attention to some blunders rises and falls. Where did the Freudian slip come from? Why do we prize "umlessness" in speaking--and should we? And how do we explain the American presidents who are famous for their verbal stumbles?
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 08/12/2008
ISBN: 9781400095438
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.52lbs
Size: 7.96h x 5.28w x 0.74d
Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 09/07/2008 pg. 24