Like, Literally, Dude

Arguing for the Good in Bad English

By: Valerie Fridland

Narrated by: Valerie Fridland, Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Keylor Leigh, Andrew Eiden, Christopher Ryan Grant, Ellen Archer, Eileen Stevens, Nicky Endres

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

"With easygoing authority... [Fridland] offers context, and a welcoming spirit, to the many contentious realignments in our language."—The Wall Street Journal

“Smart and funny—I loved it!"—Mignon Fogarty, author of New York Times bestseller Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

A lively linguistic exploration of the speech habits we love to hate—and why our “like”s and “literally”s actually make us better communicators

Paranoid about the “ums” and “uhs” that pepper your presentations? Concerned that people notice your vocal fry? Bewildered by “hella” or the meteoric rise of “so”? What if these features of our speech weren’t a sign of cultural and linguistic degeneration, but rather, some of the most dynamic and revolutionary tools at our disposal?

In Like, Literally, Dude, linguist Valerie Fridland shows how we can re-imagine these forms as exciting new linguistic frontiers rather than our culture’s impending demise. With delightful irreverence and expertise built over two decades of research, Fridland weaves together history, psychology, science, and laugh-out-loud anecdotes to explain why we speak the way we do today, and how that impacts what our kids may be saying tomorrow. She teaches us that language is both function and fashion, and that though we often blame the young, the female, and the uneducated for its downfall, we should actually thank them for their linguistic ingenuity.

By exploring the dark corners every English teacher has taught us to avoid, Like, Literally, Dude redeems our most pilloried linguistic quirks, arguing that they are fundamental to our social, professional, and romantic success—perhaps even more so than our clothing or our resumes. It explains how filled pauses benefit both speakers and listeners; how the use of “dude” can help people bond across social divides; why we’re always trying to make our intensifiers ever more intense; as well as many other language tics, habits, and developments.

Language change is natural, built into the language system itself, and we wouldn’t be who we are without it. Like, Literally, Dude celebrates the dynamic, ongoing, and empowering evolution of language, and it will speak to anyone who talks, or listens, inspiring them to communicate dynamically and effectively in their daily lives.

©2023 Valerie Fridland (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"With easygoing authority... [Fridland] offers context, and a welcoming spirit, to the many contentious realignments in our language."—The Wall Street Journal

"A smart and detailed apologia for speech habits that 'violate our sense of linguistic decorum'. . . . Scholarly yet accessible, and often very witty, this is a winning look at how language evolves."—Publishers Weekly

“Valerie Fridland knows everything you ever wondered about language. With a parade of revelations in each chapter, she will have you texting your friends with mind-blowing tidbits.”—Mignon Fogarty, author of New York Times bestseller Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

Very ear-opening!

I’d never been exposed to linguistics before, although friends with interesting minds have been encouraging me to check out the works of Noam Chomsky and others for decades. After hearing a radio interview with the author, I was intrigued by her explanatory charm and decided to give the audiobook a try. Great multi-narrator flow and the changing narrators as the book traverses relevant topics and issues of language really worked for me. I was particularly impressed by the historical depth and perspectives on how our language got to where it’s AT. Lol, and the fields of psycho linguistics and sociolinguistics are my two new favorite enthusiasms! Language snob sticks in the cultural mud need not bother. ;)

A linguistic dream!

I'm a speech language pathologist so this book had all of my nerdy passions wrapped up with a big pretty bow! I was enlightened on "why" we need to accept changes in language and I appreciated the history lessons, psych lessons, and of course the humor! There is so much that I not only enjoyed, but can apply to my therapy approach and outlook on daily life. The book was well-written, organized, and so easy to digest. Finally, I ADORED each and every one of the readers/narrators as they all presented this text perfectly. I will definitely be sharing this one with my friends, especially those that are lovers of speech, language, psych, and/or linguistics! Beautiful work!

Fun and Insightful

This book was a delight to listen to. It's as much a book about psychology as language and taught me a lot about both people and the words we use and why we use them. I particularly enjoyed how each section used the speech patterns it was explaining to add levity and context. Excellent work.

Both Fascinating and Fun

If you have even a passing interest in language, you’ll find this book well worth your time. This is a highly-researched work that allows the listener to really experience how much language changes whether we like it or not.

Erudite fun

Convincing discussion about many topics including pronouns. However, some of the pronouns are just too long and require vocal acrobatics. Shakespeare’s jokes require translation for the modern reader. Maybe our books will be unreadable in 200 years?

Not as good as I’d expected

About 20% of this book I found fascinating, 60% was interesting, and 20% was tedious, boring, and annoying. She’s essentially saying that language rules don’t matter, and I disagree. She also throws a little more shade on the male gender than I think we deserve.