This original, entertaining, and surprising book investigates verbal blunders: what they are, what they say about those who make them, and how and why we've come to judge them.Um... is about how you really speak, and why it's normal for your everyday speech to be filled with errors—about one in every ten words. In this charming, engaging account of language in the wild, linguist and writer Michael Erard also explains why our attention to some blunders rises and falls. Where did the Freudian slip come from? Why do we prize "umlessness" in speaking—and should we? And how do we explain the American presidents who are famous for their verbal stumbles? Full of entertaining examples, Um... is essential reading for talkers and listeners of all stripes.
- ISBN10 0375423567
- ISBN13 9780375423567
- Publish Date 21 August 2007 (first published 1 January 2007)
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 20 May 2017
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Pantheon Books
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 287
- Language English