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1349: Valerie Fridland | Why We Talk Funny and What Our Voices Reveal
You don't just speak with an accent, you hear with one. Linguist Valerie Fridland reveals how your voice leaks your class, your past, and your biases. Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/1349 What We Discuss with Valerie Fridland: The Pan Am bomb threat that sent the wrong man to prison. How a grumpy cargo handler spent nine months locked up over recorded threats, until legendary linguist Bill Labov proved the real caller was from Boston, not New York, using a single vowel feature the accused could never have known to fake.Why nobody is actually accent-free. What separates an accent (sound only) from a dialect (grammar, vocabulary, and sound), why the people who swear they sound normal simply can't hear themselves, and how you don't just speak with an accent, you listen through one too, filtering everyone else.Why Britain has a different accent every few miles. How a thousand extra years of history, clan rivalries, and geographic separation bred dense regional accents across the UK, while colonial America's mixing of settlers who had to cooperate to survive flattened everything into one uniform sound.How class quietly engineers the way we talk. Why a vahse costs more than a vase, how R-dropping and that posh 'ah' vowel migrated from London to New England, why nearly every sound change starts with the working class and creeps upward, and where Hollywood's fake transatlantic accent came from.What your own voice reveals once you start listening. Notice how you talk differently from your parents, the slang you've absorbed online, and how you shift speech depending on who's around. Research shows motivation and exposure, not innate talent, drive accent learning, so accents aren't mistakes.And much more...And if you're still game to support us, please leave a review here — even one sentence helps! Sign up for Six-Minute Networking — our free networking and relationship development mini course — at jordanharbinger.com/course!Subscribe to our once-a-week Wee Bit Wiser newsletter today and start filling your Wednesdays with wisdom!Do you even Reddit, bro? Join us at r/JordanHarbinger!This Episode Is Brought To You By Our Fine Sponsors: BetterHelp: 10% off first month: betterhelp.com/jordanButcherBox: Free protein for a year + $20 off first box: butcherbox.com/jordanPaka: Paka hoodie & crew socks: go.pakaapparel.com/jordanMarathon Rewards: Sign up today: marathonrewards.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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