To some degree we all hold a linguistic bias, but if we can learn what they are in ourselves and others, it could help us build better relationships. Dr. Valerie Fridland is Professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Nevada. An expert on the relationship between language and society, her work has appeared in numerous academic journals and scholarly collections.
She is co-author of the book, Sociophonetics and lead editor of three volumes on Western states English. Her language blog, Language in the Wild, is featured on Psychology Today, and her lecture series, Language and Society, is available from The Great Courses. She is also working on her first book for a popular audience, I Hate When You Say That!
Let’s dive right in and learn from the expert how we can build connections by understanding linguistics.
Things you will learn in this episode:
[00:01 – 04:23] Opening Segment
- I introduce today’s guest, Dr. Valerie Fridland
- Valerie gives a bit of her background
- Daughter to French speaking parents
- Aware of the social significance of language
- Getting a PhD in linguistics
[04:24 – 24:43] Building Connections Through Linguistics
- The role language plays in your surroundings
- Making people feel more connected
- Classifying yourself
- Costing you jobs and judgeships
- The importance of understanding how linguistics works
- There is not a wrong or right way
- Where linguistic bias originated
- Power and prestige
- The way you react to speech
- Practical ways we can connect without linguist bias
- Example through fill-pauses: Ums and uhs
- Get to know your linguistic style
- The example of ‘like’
- A word from our Sponsor
[24:44 – 41:12] Building Your Network
- Who you know, or what you know?
- The what is important as a professor
- Who you know is vital to building a business
- Valerie uses me as an example for a linguistic test
- What to do with linguistic information
- Revealing who they spend the most time with
- A connection that has impacted Valerie’s path
- An embarrassing moment that led to something significant
- The importance of mentors in Valerie’s experience
- Always building off of other people
- Asking, What can I learn?
- Valerie’s number one networking tip
- Be genuine
- Build relationships not transactions
[41:13 – 48:27] Closing Segment
- ThE RaNdOm RoUnD
- How to engage with Valerie
- Links below
- Final words
Tweetable Quotes:
“The thing we learn growing up about languages is that there’s a right way to speak it and a wrong way to speak it and that’s the biggest fallacy that’s out there…” – Dr. Valerie Fridland
“I can’t imagine any job or field, or even life situation, where having someone walk in those shoes, before you, isn’t helpful… Everything I do builds on something that someone else did.” – Dr. Valerie Fridland
Resources Mentioned:
Connect and engage with Dr. Fridland on https://www.valeriefridland.com/ and learn more interesting facts about linguistics in our daily lives.
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