Nick holt to teste

Pauses, gaps and overlaps in

conversations
We all had teachers who scolded us over the use of um, uh-huh, oh, like, and mm-
hmm. But as linguist N. J. Enfield reveals in How We Talk, these "bad words" are
fundamental to language.

Whether we are speaking with the clerk at the store, our boss, or our spouse, language
is dependent on things as commonplace as a rising tone of voice, an apparently m

Synopsis

We all had teachers who scolded us over the use of um, uh-huh, oh, like, and mm-
hmm. But as linguist N. J. Enfield reveals in How We Talk, these “bad words” are
fundamental to language.

Whether we are speaking with the clerk at the store, our boss, or our spouse, language
is dependent on things as commonplace as a rising tone of voice, an apparently
meaningless word, or a glance–signals so small that we hardly pay them any
conscious attention. Nevertheless, they are the essence of how we speak. From the
traffic signals of speech to the importance of um, How We Talk revolutionizes our
understanding of conversation. In the process, Enfield reveals what makes language
universally–and uniquely–human.

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Reviews
“[Enfield’s] sparkling book, How We Talk, sets out to show that the power of the
‘conversation machine’ is as astonishing as any of our grammatical achievements, and
that how we direct our fast-paced exchanges challenges how we think about human
nature.”

—New Scientist

“Conversation, it turns out, is a finely tuned machine, as Nick Enfield…suggests in How

We Talk…From a certain point of view, what is fascinating about human conversation
is not how hard it is, but how we subconsciously co-operate to make it seem easy.”

—Economist

“Has anyone—a parent, teacher, or boss—told you to purge the words ‘um’ and ‘uh’
from your conversation?…In How We Talk…Nick Enfield rescues those words (and
everyone who uses them) from censure…expos[ing] the fascinating and intricate
workings of what he calls the human conversation machine.”

—NPR’s 13.7 Cosmos & Culture

“Enfield opens a window on linguistic dimensions far beyond grammar.”

—Nature
“In Enfield’s analysis, human conversation across cultures is defined by a social
unease that begins to develop after a break of 600 milliseconds or so. One of the
primary purposes of ums and ahhs is a kindness to those around us, a fulfilling of a
neighborly duty that keeps others from growing worried or disengaged from the social
encounter…Persuasive.”

—Washington Free Beacon

“Enfield calls for more focus on conversation as a key to understanding ‘what makes
language possible in our species,’ and he does it in clear prose, and with the use of 30-
odd graphs and charts.”

—Winnipeg Free Press

“Enfield makes a solid case for more focus—and fieldwork—on conversation as a key
to understanding ‘what makes language possible in our species.’ He does all this in
clear and casually authoritative prose…This survey performs the neat trick of offering
enormous amounts of complex material in a format that remains utterly accessible.”

—Publishers Weekly

“If you think grammar is all about nouns, verbs, gender and the subjunctive, N.J.
Enfield’s new book will transform what you think of language as being all about. At
heart language is about communicating with others in rapid-fire conversation, and
linguists have found that conversation has rules just as sentence-making does. You
may have heard that ‘mama’ and ‘papa’ are universal words—but Enfield will teach you
that ‘huh?’ is a third one. If you want to feel sophisticated just in being able to have a
two minute conversation on the phone, How We Talk is the book for you.”
—John McWhorter, professor of linguistics at Columbia University and author of The
Language Hoax, Words on the Move, and Talking Back, Talking Black

“N. J. Enfield is one of the most brilliant, innovative, and insightful researchers to ever
work on language as a cultural construct. How We Talk is a superbly readable
summary of his and others’ work. It is a book that anyone interested in our species,
communication, and the delight of learning should read. I loved every page of it.”

—Daniel L. Everett, author of Don’t Sleep, There Are Snakes: Life and Language in the
Amazonian Jungle and How Language Began: The Story of Humanity’s Greatest
Invention

“N.J. Enfield’s How We Talk is a delight. The book is not about the grammar,
vocabulary, or usage of language, but rather about how we collaborate with each other
in everyday conversation. Enfield’s topics range from taking turns, forestalling delays,
and assuring mutual understanding, to features of talk that are universal and play a role
in the evolution of language. Enfield and his colleagues have investigated everyday talk
in languages, both major and minor, from every corner of the world, so he is a true
authority on these issues. Best of all, he makes these issues come alive for us
readers.”

—Herbert H. Clark, Albert Ray Lang Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Stanford

University

“N. J. Enfield’s new book explains how everyday conversation—language we just take
for granted—is all at once both ordinary and extraordinary, and how that paradox
defines our very humanity. Full of examples that feel familiar, it’s nonetheless a book
full of surprises, written in a straightforward, friendly style distilled from long experience
of making complicated things clear.”
—Michael Adams, Provost Professor of English, Indiana University at Bloomington,
and author of In Praise of Profanity and Slang: The People’s Poetry