We gravitate toward people like us; it’s human nature. Race, class, and gender shape our social identities, and thus who we perceive as “like us” or “not like us.” But one overlooked factor can be even more powerful: the way we speak. As the pioneering psychologist Katherine Kinzler reveals in How You Say It, the way we talk is central to our social identity because our speech largely reflects the voices we heard as children. We can change how we speak to some extent, whether by “code-switching” between dialects or by learning a new language; over time, our speech even changes to reflect our evolving social identity and aspirations. But for the most part, we are forever marked by our native tongue—and are hardwired to prejudge others by theirs, often with serious consequences. Someone’s accent alone can determine the economic opportunity or discrimination they encounter in life, making speech one of the most urgent social-justice issues of our day. Our linguistic differences present challenges, Kinzler shows, but they also can be a force for good. Humans can benefit from being exposed to multiple languages—a paradox that should inspire us to master this ancient source of tribalism and rethink the role that speech plays in our society.
We gravitate toward people like us; it’s human nature. Race, class, and gender shape our social identities, and thus who we perceive as “like us” or “not like us.” But one overlooked factor can be even more powerful: the way we speak. As the pioneering psychologist Katherine Kinzler reveals in How You Say It, the way we talk is central to our social identity because our speech largely reflects the voices we heard as children. We can change how we speak to some extent, whether by “code-switching” between dialects or by learning a new language; over time, our speech even changes to reflect our evolving social identity and aspirations. But for the most part, we are forever marked by our native tongue—and are hardwired to prejudge others by theirs, often with serious consequences. Someone’s accent alone can determine the economic opportunity or discrimination they encounter in life, making speech one of the most urgent social-justice issues of our day. Our linguistic differences present challenges, Kinzler shows, but they also can be a force for good. Humans can benefit from being exposed to multiple languages—a paradox that should inspire us to master this ancient source of tribalism and rethink the role that speech plays in our society.
Reviews-
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April 20, 2020
Kinzler, a University of Chicago psychology professor, explores in this revelatory and thought-provoking debut the social assumptions people attach to accents and speaking styles, to sometimes devastating effect. Kinzler became interested in the subject while traveling in the former Yugoslavia, where she saw how linguistic variations played into ethnic enmity. Early on in the book, she presents famous cases from linguistics, including an episode in Nicaragua in the 1970s in which a group of deaf children newly enrolled together in school spontaneously developed a new sign language, and lighter contemporary topics, such as upspeak (the rising inflection that makes a statement sound like a question). Moving into more urgent territory, Kinzler takes aim at the “negative stereotypes of nonstandard accents,” which she finds still prevalent in American culture. She cites various examples of how prejudices against the way people speak have led to discrimination in housing, employment, and the justice system, including how, during George Zimmerman’s murder trial, the accent of a witness who was last to speak to Trayvon Martin before his death led jurors to largely discount her testimony. Well-written and entertainingly told, Kinzler’s persuasive exploration of linguistic-based differences will awaken readers to potentially unrecognized biases. Agent: Katinka Matson, Brockman Inc. -
May 1, 2020
How we speak shapes our lives in powerful ways, argues a psychologist immersed in research on the subject. In her persuasive first book, University of Chicago psychology professor Kinzler maintains that the way we speak, whether in a "foreign" accent, a "nonstandard" version of our own language, or a "high-status" one, affects both how we perceive the world and how we are perceived by others. Making judicious use of her own research as well as that of others, the author shows the deep roots of our reactions to language and its variations. Kinzler's research is particularly fascinating: Many of her experiments were conducted with children less than 1 year old--sometimes just a couple months--and proved that even at this age, children are able to differentiate among accents and prefer those of their primary caregivers to any others. Perhaps more surprisingly, babies and children recognize language as one of the key defining aspects used in discriminating between "us" and "them"--even more essential than race. Kindergartners, for example, think that "someone who was white and spoke English was more likely to grow up to be black than grow up to speak French." After comprehensively educating readers about the vital role that our speech plays in how we are viewed, Kinzler goes on to argue, using several legal cases as well as more formal research as evidence, that discrimination based on accent or regional speech is just as real as discrimination based on, say, race or national origin. In fact, it may be more insidious because it's often not consciously recognized by the individuals doing the discriminating. Writing informally and concisely, Kinzler aims to raise our awareness of this unnoticed prejudice so that we can put an end to it. An articulate examination of an underrecognized aspect of human communication.COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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September 25, 2020
The way we speak can be a critical marker of identity, yet we are unaware of its power. It's often how we sound signals about who we are, where we come from, and the aspirations we have. Language and dialect are deeply connected to our sense of self and tribe and are also linked to deep-seated stereotypes and biases. For example, a person with a deep Southern drawl might be perceived differently from someone with a British accent. Kinzler's (psychology, Univ. of Chicago) goal with this book is to explain the relationship between language, dialect, and social forces so we can use that knowledge when we interact with others. In achieving this goal, Kinzler researched how babies and young children use language to divide people into categories and determine who is like them and who is different. In her words, she studies children because they provide a window into our human nature. The author later explores the interplay of accent and prejudice, especially in the workplace and during the interview process; the challenges of learning a second language; and bilingualism's advantages. VERDICT Insightful and accessible, this book is a must for all psychology and social justice collections.--Beth Dalton, Littleton, CO
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