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Professor of Sociolinguistics

Valerie Fridland

Valerie Fridland is a professor of sociolinguistics at the University of Nevada, Reno, and author of Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents. She specializes in how language variation—including accents, speech patterns, and listening biases—shapes human communication and understanding.

Known For

Sociolinguistics research on accents and speech variationTeaching that listening is as important as speaking in communicationUnderstanding how our linguistic background biases how we hear others

Books

Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents

Episodes