#824 Valerie Fridland - Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English
RECORDED ON JUNE 12th 2023.
Dr. Valerie Fridland is Professor and former Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of English at the University of Nevada in Reno. She is an expert on the relationship between language and society. Dr. Fridland also speaks and writes widely for a popular audience. Her language blog, Language in the Wild, appears in Psychology Today and her lecture series, Language and Society, is featured with The Great Courses. She is the author of several books, including Like, Literally, Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English.
In this episode, we focus on “Like, Literally, Dude”. We start by talking about what people call “bad” English, the history of standardization and prescription in English, and how grammar rules are mostly arbitrary. We discuss who drives linguistics change, and the role of women and low-status people. We talk about what gender has to do with how we speak. We then talk about the uses of filled pauses like “um” and “uh”, and the uses of “like”, “I mean”, “you know”, and “so”. We also talk about the meaning of “dude”, and “literally”, and we discuss if words have any intrinsic meaning. Finally, we discuss the current proposal of using “they/them” as singular personal pronouns to refer to non-binary people, and removing/banning words from classic books.
Time Links:
Intro
What is it that people call “bad” English?
The history of standardization and prescription in English
Grammar rules are mostly arbitrary
Who drives linguistic change? The role of women and low-status people
Do formal schooling and language standardization stifle linguistic change?
What does gender have to do with how we speak?
The uses of filled pauses, like “um” and “uh”
The use of “like”, “I mean”, “you know”, and “so”
The meaning of “dude”
Do words have any intrinsic meaning?
The meanings of “literally”
The use of “they/them” as singular personal pronouns
Removing/banning words from classic books
Follow Dr. Fridland’s work!
Follow Dr. Fridland’s work:
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3oBf9x6
Website: https://bit.ly/3BXwq6G
Works on ResearchGate: https://bit.ly/3N0w45H
Like, Literally, Dude: https://bit.ly/3OP1mhj
Twitter handle: @FridlandValerie