You’re All Talk:
Why We Are What We Speak
Overview
Why do we have different accents and where do they come from? Why do you say ‘tomayto’ and I say ‘tomahto’? And is one way of speaking better than another?
In You’re All Talk, linguist Rob Drummond explores the enormous diversity in our spoken language to reveal extraordinary insights into how humans operate: how we perceive (and judge) other people and how we would like ourselves to be perceived. He investigates how and why we automatically associate different accents with particular social characteristics — degrees of friendliness, authority, social class, level of education, race, and so on — and how we, consciously or subconsciously, change the way we speak in order to create different versions of ourselves to fit different environments.
Ultimately, You’re All Talk demonstrates the beauty of linguistic diversity and how embracing it can give us a better understanding of other people — and ourselves.
Details
- Format
- Size
- Extent
- ISBN
- RRP
- Pub date
- Rights held
- Paperback
- 198mm x 129mm
- 256 pages
- 9781917189125
- GBP£10.99
- 10 April 2025
- UK & Commonwealth (ex. Can), EU
Praise
‘For years, working exclusively in radio, my voice was my whole professional self. It is still vastly important now. With a voice — an accent — like mine, I suspect a career in news broadcasting would have been almost impossible a generation or two ago. In a fortunate twist of timing, as minds have broadened, I suspect it’s actually been an advantage to me and helped me stand out.
I am fascinated by accents — and all the perceptions they haul around with them. This is a brilliantly written analysis. It is warm and human in tone. Rob wears his vast expertise lightly, meaning the lay reader is engaged, informed, and entertained in equal measures. I’d thoroughly recommend it.’
‘A telling and compelling exploration of spoken English, charting the joys and risks of individual accents, and why we perceive them the way we do. Through a mix of history, anecdotes, and topical examples, Drummond brings light and humour into a gnarly subject that affects every one of us.’
About the Author
Rob Drummond is Professor of Sociolinguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University, where he researches and teaches about the relationship between how we speak and who we are. He recently completed a large project exploring the accents and dialects of Greater Manchester, touring the region in his Accent Van. He appears regularly on radio and TV talking about language-related issues and spent some time as ‘resident linguist’ on BBC Radio 3’s The Verb, as well as appearing on the BBC Breakfast sofa.
