Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

fab little book., 10 May 2003
I was born in and lived in Liverpool all my life, I bought this as a little present for my boyfriend to help him out since he isn't local.He tells me that it's a great help, and I found it amusing to look over all the old scouse phrases. Would recomend to anyone!

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

fab little book., 10 May 2003
I was born in and lived in Liverpool all my life, I bought this as a little present for my boyfriend to help him out since he isn't local.He tells me that it's a great help, and I found it amusing to look over all the old scouse phrases. Would recomend to anyone!

A great introduction to sociolinguistics, 15 Dec 2002
This is an excellent introduction to a fascinating and budding field. Sociolinguistics is basically the study of how language interacts with society, and how it varies within and between societies. It is perhaps the more modern version of dialectology, though dialectology is still around, and Trudgill has written several other books in that field. But he fully understands the differences, and his dual expertise makes some sections of the book more interesting.

This book is one of the most readable academic books that you could pick up, especially in linguistics. Trudgill introduces sociolinguistics in ten chapters which each focus on the way language is related to certain other generally social factors. These include social class, ethnic group, sex, context, nation and five others. Trudgill is British, and therefore many of his examples have to do with Britain: the variation of English and the Celtic languages. He does not neglect looking at other Englishes, however, and this will be a definite advantage for the reader in Britain. However, other readers will not suffer, as his examples are clearly explained. Besides English and the Celtic languages of the British Isles, he also discusses countless other languages, raising interesting points and illustrating them with nice examples.

If you read this book, you will soon become an expert in basic sociolinguistics. You will find yourself using many of these examples in conversation, almost feeling that they were your own. It's a great way to get started learning about the field, and it is accessible to those already in linguistics as well as the casual reader.

Good Introduction To Sociolinguistics., 07 Sep 2000
A very good intro to this broad field of study. Trudgill makes the topic interesting, as he uses a wide range of examples to illustrate some of the main areas of Sociolinguistics.

Language and its usage effects the lives of everyone. If you want to see through the typical nonsence that people talk on the subject, get this book.

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

fab little book., 10 May 2003
I was born in and lived in Liverpool all my life, I bought this as a little present for my boyfriend to help him out since he isn't local.He tells me that it's a great help, and I found it amusing to look over all the old scouse phrases. Would recomend to anyone!

A great introduction to sociolinguistics, 15 Dec 2002
This is an excellent introduction to a fascinating and budding field. Sociolinguistics is basically the study of how language interacts with society, and how it varies within and between societies. It is perhaps the more modern version of dialectology, though dialectology is still around, and Trudgill has written several other books in that field. But he fully understands the differences, and his dual expertise makes some sections of the book more interesting.

This book is one of the most readable academic books that you could pick up, especially in linguistics. Trudgill introduces sociolinguistics in ten chapters which each focus on the way language is related to certain other generally social factors. These include social class, ethnic group, sex, context, nation and five others. Trudgill is British, and therefore many of his examples have to do with Britain: the variation of English and the Celtic languages. He does not neglect looking at other Englishes, however, and this will be a definite advantage for the reader in Britain. However, other readers will not suffer, as his examples are clearly explained. Besides English and the Celtic languages of the British Isles, he also discusses countless other languages, raising interesting points and illustrating them with nice examples.

If you read this book, you will soon become an expert in basic sociolinguistics. You will find yourself using many of these examples in conversation, almost feeling that they were your own. It's a great way to get started learning about the field, and it is accessible to those already in linguistics as well as the casual reader.

Good Introduction To Sociolinguistics., 07 Sep 2000
A very good intro to this broad field of study. Trudgill makes the topic interesting, as he uses a wide range of examples to illustrate some of the main areas of Sociolinguistics.

Language and its usage effects the lives of everyone. If you want to see through the typical nonsence that people talk on the subject, get this book.

Exceptionally Well Researched and Written!, 24 Aug 2008
I read this book several years ago and found it well researched, written and easy to understand.

Deborah Tannen is a linguist who clearly addresses how and why women and men communicate differently. She explains that women communicate primarily to establish connections and negotiate relationships while men talk as a primary means to preserve independence and to negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. Tannen explains that although women also talk to preserve independence and achieve status, and men communicate to establish connections, it isn't the primary concern or focus of the majority of their conversations.

You Just Don't Understand helps a person to gain a better understanding of his or her own individual communication techniques. A well written, researched, insightful and informative book, You Just Don't Understand, presents the gender difference material in a clear, non-subjective and positive manner. This low-bias approach enhances the quality of the material significantly. The author addresses a number of other issues besides gender differences that govern communication techniques. For example, boys and girls grow up in different worlds and this has a significant effect on how they communicate. Consequently, other issues besides gender differences need to be explored and understood to create an effective dialog between the sexes.

Understanding of linguistic differences promotes better relationships. I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about how men and women communicate.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Should be handed out with the marriage vows!, 07 Jul 2007
First thing first, I bought this book by recommendation, and have been really excited by what I found, but in a way I was not expecting. 'Women and Men in Conversation' is heavily grounded in postmodern textual analysis and teases out differences and sameness in communication styles between men and women, that go a long way to explaining the confusion and disagreements that can sometimes exist for no logical reason at all - that is if you are a bloke! But having had a handle on female sub-textual communication patterns for a number of years, I was more fascinated by the established male patterns of behaviour outlined so readily by Dr Tannen, and found myself scratching my head, as to what purpose they actually solved in a rapidly shifting society, that many commentators would argue is becoming feminised, but I would argue 'balanced'. The archetypal male energy comes across as status driven, hierarchical and superior. The archetypal female energy as informational, linking and nurturing. Conversational patterns therefore seem to be more rooted in traditional gender stereotypes of behaviour, and perhaps they will evolve over time as men learn to become more inner focused, communicative and share their flare for alpha dominance.

Definitive guide to avoiding misunderstandings with the opposite sex, 22 Apr 2007
This is one of the most usuful books ever written, and far and away the most helpful I have seen on the topic of how men and woman can understand each other better.

Dr Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics; her first book on the subject of communications was called "That's not what I meant." That book had ten chapters about alternative aspects of differing conversationsal styles and the misunderstandings they can cause: one of those ten chapters dealt with gender differences. But as Dr Tannen explains in the preface to this book, 90% of the feedback and requests for interviews or follow-up articles concerning that first book concentrated on 10% of it - the chapter on male-female differences.

The reason is not hard to seek. Differences in geographical origin, profession, race, class or ethnic background can easily be associated with differing communication styles which can lead to misunderstandings. However, we are not forced to build our most important and intimate relationships with people from whom we have such differences, though some choose to. But none of us can avoid having relationships central to our lives with people of the opposite sex. All of us have one parent of the other gender, the 90% of us who are heterosexuals have to look for our life-partners among the other gender, anyone who has a child has a 50% chance of having to raise someone of the other gender.

So Dr Tannen set out to explore communications and misunderstandings between men and women, and this book was the result.

I had been married less than two weeks when my wife and I managed to almost exactly act out one of the first examples of a male-female misunderstanding given in this book. Dr Tannen had presented in a Washington Post article a real-life conversation between a couple in their car.

The wife had asked "Would you like to stop for a drink?" The husband, taking the question literally and precisely at its face value, answered "No". The woman, who had expected her husband to realise that she did want to stop for a drink, was upset because it appeared to her that he ignored her wishes. The man, when it came out later that his wife was upset by this, was equally frustrated, wondering "Why didn't she just say what she wanted?"

Luckily when my wife and I enacted an almost identical conversation, (substituting a chinese takeaway for a drink) she added the comment "I really fancied a chinese" before it was too late to get one. If I had not read this book I might well have been hurt or confused and asked something like "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" As I had, I recognised at that we had fallen into the same pattern as the example in the book and that the problem was easily rectified; we stopped the car to get the takeaway, and avoided what could have developed into a completely unnecessary row. This was the first of a number of occasions when the book has helped us communicate better.

Dr Tannen is at pains to emphasise that she is not suggesting that men's or women's ways of speaking are necessarily better, just different, and that both sexes will be able to communicate more effectively if they have an understanding of those differences.

This book helped me for one to do that, and I strongly recommend it.

Outstanding, 30 Oct 2005
This is a most enlightening and comforting book.

All those WEIRD things about the other sex that confused and irritated you are suddenly seen to be aspects of the different ways that men and women interact.

If you have relationships with the opposite sex - or would like to - you absolutely MUST read this book.

Deborah Tannen's book, 11 Jun 2005
Definately definately worth buying! is a bit dry in places but is such a reflection of real life! good if just want 2 read about it, also fantastic for Eng Lang AS gender topic!

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

fab little book., 10 May 2003
I was born in and lived in Liverpool all my life, I bought this as a little present for my boyfriend to help him out since he isn't local.He tells me that it's a great help, and I found it amusing to look over all the old scouse phrases. Would recomend to anyone!

A great introduction to sociolinguistics, 15 Dec 2002
This is an excellent introduction to a fascinating and budding field. Sociolinguistics is basically the study of how language interacts with society, and how it varies within and between societies. It is perhaps the more modern version of dialectology, though dialectology is still around, and Trudgill has written several other books in that field. But he fully understands the differences, and his dual expertise makes some sections of the book more interesting.

This book is one of the most readable academic books that you could pick up, especially in linguistics. Trudgill introduces sociolinguistics in ten chapters which each focus on the way language is related to certain other generally social factors. These include social class, ethnic group, sex, context, nation and five others. Trudgill is British, and therefore many of his examples have to do with Britain: the variation of English and the Celtic languages. He does not neglect looking at other Englishes, however, and this will be a definite advantage for the reader in Britain. However, other readers will not suffer, as his examples are clearly explained. Besides English and the Celtic languages of the British Isles, he also discusses countless other languages, raising interesting points and illustrating them with nice examples.

If you read this book, you will soon become an expert in basic sociolinguistics. You will find yourself using many of these examples in conversation, almost feeling that they were your own. It's a great way to get started learning about the field, and it is accessible to those already in linguistics as well as the casual reader.

Good Introduction To Sociolinguistics., 07 Sep 2000
A very good intro to this broad field of study. Trudgill makes the topic interesting, as he uses a wide range of examples to illustrate some of the main areas of Sociolinguistics.

Language and its usage effects the lives of everyone. If you want to see through the typical nonsence that people talk on the subject, get this book.

Exceptionally Well Researched and Written!, 24 Aug 2008
I read this book several years ago and found it well researched, written and easy to understand.

Deborah Tannen is a linguist who clearly addresses how and why women and men communicate differently. She explains that women communicate primarily to establish connections and negotiate relationships while men talk as a primary means to preserve independence and to negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. Tannen explains that although women also talk to preserve independence and achieve status, and men communicate to establish connections, it isn't the primary concern or focus of the majority of their conversations.

You Just Don't Understand helps a person to gain a better understanding of his or her own individual communication techniques. A well written, researched, insightful and informative book, You Just Don't Understand, presents the gender difference material in a clear, non-subjective and positive manner. This low-bias approach enhances the quality of the material significantly. The author addresses a number of other issues besides gender differences that govern communication techniques. For example, boys and girls grow up in different worlds and this has a significant effect on how they communicate. Consequently, other issues besides gender differences need to be explored and understood to create an effective dialog between the sexes.

Understanding of linguistic differences promotes better relationships. I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about how men and women communicate.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Should be handed out with the marriage vows!, 07 Jul 2007
First thing first, I bought this book by recommendation, and have been really excited by what I found, but in a way I was not expecting. 'Women and Men in Conversation' is heavily grounded in postmodern textual analysis and teases out differences and sameness in communication styles between men and women, that go a long way to explaining the confusion and disagreements that can sometimes exist for no logical reason at all - that is if you are a bloke! But having had a handle on female sub-textual communication patterns for a number of years, I was more fascinated by the established male patterns of behaviour outlined so readily by Dr Tannen, and found myself scratching my head, as to what purpose they actually solved in a rapidly shifting society, that many commentators would argue is becoming feminised, but I would argue 'balanced'. The archetypal male energy comes across as status driven, hierarchical and superior. The archetypal female energy as informational, linking and nurturing. Conversational patterns therefore seem to be more rooted in traditional gender stereotypes of behaviour, and perhaps they will evolve over time as men learn to become more inner focused, communicative and share their flare for alpha dominance.

Definitive guide to avoiding misunderstandings with the opposite sex, 22 Apr 2007
This is one of the most usuful books ever written, and far and away the most helpful I have seen on the topic of how men and woman can understand each other better.

Dr Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics; her first book on the subject of communications was called "That's not what I meant." That book had ten chapters about alternative aspects of differing conversationsal styles and the misunderstandings they can cause: one of those ten chapters dealt with gender differences. But as Dr Tannen explains in the preface to this book, 90% of the feedback and requests for interviews or follow-up articles concerning that first book concentrated on 10% of it - the chapter on male-female differences.

The reason is not hard to seek. Differences in geographical origin, profession, race, class or ethnic background can easily be associated with differing communication styles which can lead to misunderstandings. However, we are not forced to build our most important and intimate relationships with people from whom we have such differences, though some choose to. But none of us can avoid having relationships central to our lives with people of the opposite sex. All of us have one parent of the other gender, the 90% of us who are heterosexuals have to look for our life-partners among the other gender, anyone who has a child has a 50% chance of having to raise someone of the other gender.

So Dr Tannen set out to explore communications and misunderstandings between men and women, and this book was the result.

I had been married less than two weeks when my wife and I managed to almost exactly act out one of the first examples of a male-female misunderstanding given in this book. Dr Tannen had presented in a Washington Post article a real-life conversation between a couple in their car.

The wife had asked "Would you like to stop for a drink?" The husband, taking the question literally and precisely at its face value, answered "No". The woman, who had expected her husband to realise that she did want to stop for a drink, was upset because it appeared to her that he ignored her wishes. The man, when it came out later that his wife was upset by this, was equally frustrated, wondering "Why didn't she just say what she wanted?"

Luckily when my wife and I enacted an almost identical conversation, (substituting a chinese takeaway for a drink) she added the comment "I really fancied a chinese" before it was too late to get one. If I had not read this book I might well have been hurt or confused and asked something like "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" As I had, I recognised at that we had fallen into the same pattern as the example in the book and that the problem was easily rectified; we stopped the car to get the takeaway, and avoided what could have developed into a completely unnecessary row. This was the first of a number of occasions when the book has helped us communicate better.

Dr Tannen is at pains to emphasise that she is not suggesting that men's or women's ways of speaking are necessarily better, just different, and that both sexes will be able to communicate more effectively if they have an understanding of those differences.

This book helped me for one to do that, and I strongly recommend it.

Outstanding, 30 Oct 2005
This is a most enlightening and comforting book.

All those WEIRD things about the other sex that confused and irritated you are suddenly seen to be aspects of the different ways that men and women interact.

If you have relationships with the opposite sex - or would like to - you absolutely MUST read this book.

Deborah Tannen's book, 11 Jun 2005
Definately definately worth buying! is a bit dry in places but is such a reflection of real life! good if just want 2 read about it, also fantastic for Eng Lang AS gender topic!

Excellent!, 08 Sep 2008
Great book. Simply a fascinating read. Aitchison provides a thorough treatment of the subject, which has moral, ethnical, academic and even spiritual implications.

Her style, moreover, is entertaining and engaging. Although I do not claim to remember even the majority of the technical detail, it is a thoroughly worthwhile read - both for people with an interest in the subject and as ammunition against those who relentlessly insist on spilling their bile over ostensible incidences of moral decline owing to incremental modifications in language use.

A great read - highly recommended.

Brilliant. Extremely interesting., 20 Mar 2003
This book is covers a lot and is clearly written in a way that is suitable for the student but also anybody who has an interest in language change.

It is split into four parts: -
Preliminaries - this talks about introductory things as well as how evidence is collected and how to chart the changes.
Transition - this extremely interesting chapter goes through ways in which languages change, using a variety of up-to-date examples of well-known studies and others. It looks at not only changes to phonology but also syntactic changes too.
Causation - this concentrates primarily at sociolinguistics and why languages change. It also looks at other reasons such as 'mechanical' and how languages 'repair' themselves.
Beginnings and endings - this looks at pidgins and Creoles as devices to study language beginnings and endings, using some examples, primarily Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea. It concludes by saying language is not progressing or decaying.

I recommend this book for anybody studying language change, whatever the language(s) concerned may be.

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

fab little book., 10 May 2003
I was born in and lived in Liverpool all my life, I bought this as a little present for my boyfriend to help him out since he isn't local.He tells me that it's a great help, and I found it amusing to look over all the old scouse phrases. Would recomend to anyone!

A great introduction to sociolinguistics, 15 Dec 2002
This is an excellent introduction to a fascinating and budding field. Sociolinguistics is basically the study of how language interacts with society, and how it varies within and between societies. It is perhaps the more modern version of dialectology, though dialectology is still around, and Trudgill has written several other books in that field. But he fully understands the differences, and his dual expertise makes some sections of the book more interesting.

This book is one of the most readable academic books that you could pick up, especially in linguistics. Trudgill introduces sociolinguistics in ten chapters which each focus on the way language is related to certain other generally social factors. These include social class, ethnic group, sex, context, nation and five others. Trudgill is British, and therefore many of his examples have to do with Britain: the variation of English and the Celtic languages. He does not neglect looking at other Englishes, however, and this will be a definite advantage for the reader in Britain. However, other readers will not suffer, as his examples are clearly explained. Besides English and the Celtic languages of the British Isles, he also discusses countless other languages, raising interesting points and illustrating them with nice examples.

If you read this book, you will soon become an expert in basic sociolinguistics. You will find yourself using many of these examples in conversation, almost feeling that they were your own. It's a great way to get started learning about the field, and it is accessible to those already in linguistics as well as the casual reader.

Good Introduction To Sociolinguistics., 07 Sep 2000
A very good intro to this broad field of study. Trudgill makes the topic interesting, as he uses a wide range of examples to illustrate some of the main areas of Sociolinguistics.

Language and its usage effects the lives of everyone. If you want to see through the typical nonsence that people talk on the subject, get this book.

Exceptionally Well Researched and Written!, 24 Aug 2008
I read this book several years ago and found it well researched, written and easy to understand.

Deborah Tannen is a linguist who clearly addresses how and why women and men communicate differently. She explains that women communicate primarily to establish connections and negotiate relationships while men talk as a primary means to preserve independence and to negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. Tannen explains that although women also talk to preserve independence and achieve status, and men communicate to establish connections, it isn't the primary concern or focus of the majority of their conversations.

You Just Don't Understand helps a person to gain a better understanding of his or her own individual communication techniques. A well written, researched, insightful and informative book, You Just Don't Understand, presents the gender difference material in a clear, non-subjective and positive manner. This low-bias approach enhances the quality of the material significantly. The author addresses a number of other issues besides gender differences that govern communication techniques. For example, boys and girls grow up in different worlds and this has a significant effect on how they communicate. Consequently, other issues besides gender differences need to be explored and understood to create an effective dialog between the sexes.

Understanding of linguistic differences promotes better relationships. I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about how men and women communicate.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Should be handed out with the marriage vows!, 07 Jul 2007
First thing first, I bought this book by recommendation, and have been really excited by what I found, but in a way I was not expecting. 'Women and Men in Conversation' is heavily grounded in postmodern textual analysis and teases out differences and sameness in communication styles between men and women, that go a long way to explaining the confusion and disagreements that can sometimes exist for no logical reason at all - that is if you are a bloke! But having had a handle on female sub-textual communication patterns for a number of years, I was more fascinated by the established male patterns of behaviour outlined so readily by Dr Tannen, and found myself scratching my head, as to what purpose they actually solved in a rapidly shifting society, that many commentators would argue is becoming feminised, but I would argue 'balanced'. The archetypal male energy comes across as status driven, hierarchical and superior. The archetypal female energy as informational, linking and nurturing. Conversational patterns therefore seem to be more rooted in traditional gender stereotypes of behaviour, and perhaps they will evolve over time as men learn to become more inner focused, communicative and share their flare for alpha dominance.

Definitive guide to avoiding misunderstandings with the opposite sex, 22 Apr 2007
This is one of the most usuful books ever written, and far and away the most helpful I have seen on the topic of how men and woman can understand each other better.

Dr Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics; her first book on the subject of communications was called "That's not what I meant." That book had ten chapters about alternative aspects of differing conversationsal styles and the misunderstandings they can cause: one of those ten chapters dealt with gender differences. But as Dr Tannen explains in the preface to this book, 90% of the feedback and requests for interviews or follow-up articles concerning that first book concentrated on 10% of it - the chapter on male-female differences.

The reason is not hard to seek. Differences in geographical origin, profession, race, class or ethnic background can easily be associated with differing communication styles which can lead to misunderstandings. However, we are not forced to build our most important and intimate relationships with people from whom we have such differences, though some choose to. But none of us can avoid having relationships central to our lives with people of the opposite sex. All of us have one parent of the other gender, the 90% of us who are heterosexuals have to look for our life-partners among the other gender, anyone who has a child has a 50% chance of having to raise someone of the other gender.

So Dr Tannen set out to explore communications and misunderstandings between men and women, and this book was the result.

I had been married less than two weeks when my wife and I managed to almost exactly act out one of the first examples of a male-female misunderstanding given in this book. Dr Tannen had presented in a Washington Post article a real-life conversation between a couple in their car.

The wife had asked "Would you like to stop for a drink?" The husband, taking the question literally and precisely at its face value, answered "No". The woman, who had expected her husband to realise that she did want to stop for a drink, was upset because it appeared to her that he ignored her wishes. The man, when it came out later that his wife was upset by this, was equally frustrated, wondering "Why didn't she just say what she wanted?"

Luckily when my wife and I enacted an almost identical conversation, (substituting a chinese takeaway for a drink) she added the comment "I really fancied a chinese" before it was too late to get one. If I had not read this book I might well have been hurt or confused and asked something like "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" As I had, I recognised at that we had fallen into the same pattern as the example in the book and that the problem was easily rectified; we stopped the car to get the takeaway, and avoided what could have developed into a completely unnecessary row. This was the first of a number of occasions when the book has helped us communicate better.

Dr Tannen is at pains to emphasise that she is not suggesting that men's or women's ways of speaking are necessarily better, just different, and that both sexes will be able to communicate more effectively if they have an understanding of those differences.

This book helped me for one to do that, and I strongly recommend it.

Outstanding, 30 Oct 2005
This is a most enlightening and comforting book.

All those WEIRD things about the other sex that confused and irritated you are suddenly seen to be aspects of the different ways that men and women interact.

If you have relationships with the opposite sex - or would like to - you absolutely MUST read this book.

Deborah Tannen's book, 11 Jun 2005
Definately definately worth buying! is a bit dry in places but is such a reflection of real life! good if just want 2 read about it, also fantastic for Eng Lang AS gender topic!

Excellent!, 08 Sep 2008
Great book. Simply a fascinating read. Aitchison provides a thorough treatment of the subject, which has moral, ethnical, academic and even spiritual implications.

Her style, moreover, is entertaining and engaging. Although I do not claim to remember even the majority of the technical detail, it is a thoroughly worthwhile read - both for people with an interest in the subject and as ammunition against those who relentlessly insist on spilling their bile over ostensible incidences of moral decline owing to incremental modifications in language use.

A great read - highly recommended.

Brilliant. Extremely interesting., 20 Mar 2003
This book is covers a lot and is clearly written in a way that is suitable for the student but also anybody who has an interest in language change.

It is split into four parts: -
Preliminaries - this talks about introductory things as well as how evidence is collected and how to chart the changes.
Transition - this extremely interesting chapter goes through ways in which languages change, using a variety of up-to-date examples of well-known studies and others. It looks at not only changes to phonology but also syntactic changes too.
Causation - this concentrates primarily at sociolinguistics and why languages change. It also looks at other reasons such as 'mechanical' and how languages 'repair' themselves.
Beginnings and endings - this looks at pidgins and Creoles as devices to study language beginnings and endings, using some examples, primarily Tok Pisin of Papua New Guinea. It concludes by saying language is not progressing or decaying.

I recommend this book for anybody studying language change, whatever the language(s) concerned may be.

Powerful Communication Skills Book!, 25 Aug 2008
That's Not What I Meant explores how to improve communication for both men and women in their personal and private lives. Topics covered include how and why people communicate differently, why misunderstanding occur and how to improve ones own communication style.

Deborah Tannen is an accomplished linguist who has invested many years learning how men and women communicate, and how that communication can be improved. Her ideas are well researched, easy to understand and apply.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

A book that contributed to changing my life, 09 Jul 2007
"That's Not What I Meant" consists of short, economically written chapters, each dealing with an aspect of communication that can impact on our effectiveness (e.g. male vs female conversation patterns).

The focus is practical and the whole is very well written. Technical concepts are presented in ordinary English for the most part - yet the effect is not patronising.

I found myself saying "Yes, that's right" to myself at regular intervals as I read it. It was one of a small number of experiences that led me to change career and begin a training company dedicated to enhancing the communication effectiveness of professionals.

Finally, I have bought several copies as presents over the years.

One of my all time top-10 books

Cheap and cheerful Geordie fun!, 10 Jul 2003
This book was bought for me as I no longer live in Newcastle and was feeling homesick! It contains an A to Z of Geordie terms and pronunciations in a cute little pocket sized book. Ideal for anyone living in or visiting Newcastle, or anyone that's come across a Geordie and has had no idea what they were saying!

We need more books like this one, 03 Jul 2008
These days, it seems, the bookstore shelves are crammed with pop-science books out to prove that the stereotypes of our culture are timeless biological truths--that men are hardwired to be logical, active "do-ers," while women are hardwired to serve men and change dirty diapers (when they're not chattering mindlessly about nothing, that is). Deborah Cameron is a welcome voice of reason. Her conclusion? Men and women really aren't as different as the "experts" want you to believe.

In a straightforward, humorous, and intelligent style, she dispels myth after myth. She references other cultures where men, rather than women, are considered the "empathy" sex or the "language" sex. Simply by looking outside of our own middle-class Western box, we can see how absurd it is to claim that men are hardwired to be bad listeners, or to hog the remote. Gender stereotypes vary greatly from culture to culture.

She describes how scientific evidence can be manufactured or twisted to suit the prejudices of our society. She explores why these myths so often "ring true" for so many people (humans are suggestible and prone to remember things that fit their stereotypes, while forgetting things that don't), and why we're so obsessed with gender and gender difference in the first place.

She gave one example which I found particularly illuminating. A few years ago, a study came out about left-handed and right-handed people. Left-handed people, the study concluded, performed better at computer gaming and other tasks that involved processing multiple stimuli. Most people, I imagine, have never heard of this study...but imagine if it had been about men and women instead of right and left-handed people. It probably would have made headlines and been cited in pop psychology books as "proof" for the vast and innate differences between men and women. For instance, if men turned out to be better at computer gaming, it would probably be touted as evidence of their competitiveness and spatial intelligence (which those Stone Age men needed for hunting, of course). But no one would be silly enough to suggest that left-handed people are naturally more competitive or better hunters than right-handed people. Reading a study about handedness, you might say, "hmm, that's interesting," but you wouldn't attach any social significance to it. Not so with studies about men and women. It's incredibly easy for people to project their prejudices onto scientific studies and draw unjustified conclusions.

Cameron also brings up the fact that studies showing a marked difference between the sexes are more likely to be published than studies showing similarities. Studies which don't reveal a difference will be considered less interesting and less controversial, so even if they ARE published, they get less attention and rarely make headlines. Just another way the picture is distorted and differences become blown out of proportion.

Cameron explores the many ways in which the Myth of Mars and Venus can impact real life, and how this myth can be abused. I particularly like how she skewered John Gray's claim that men are unable to understand what is being asked of them when someone says, "Could you take out the trash?" As she points out, many of these books make men look like complete idiots (though feigning ignorance can work to their advantage if they don't WANT to take out the trash.) The myth of M&V also has more serious consequences, such as during rape trials, when a man claims he "misread the signals" or didn't understand that the woman was unwilling.

I wish there were more books like this. The one complaint I have is the cover. As other reviewers have pointed out, it's a complete mismatch--the cover makes it look like a fluffy chick-lit or self-help book. I'd be embarrassed to be seen with it in public. People might assume I was reading one of the original Mars & Venus books!

What a relief!, 24 Dec 2007
Extremely accessible and enjoyable, this book is an important read for anyone frustrated with the pop-science arguments which have become so popular to justify notions of difference between the sexes. For me the basic point made is an epistemological one. The book explains how many pop-science arguments take myth, conjecture or unprovable assumptions as their starting point before making ingenious arguments which simply lead full circle to explain the assumptions/prejudice they started out with. But the text is brilliantly simple without any academic jargon (like 'epistemology') AT ALL and many humorous and warm points. This book is a fun, accessible and important read for anyone who feels bamboozled by sexist pop science, as well as anyone who is not quite sure what feminists are still going on about.

Don't believe the cover: intelligent response to sexism, 15 Dec 2007
Like the previous reviewer, I read extracts of this book in the Guardian. Normally with excerpted books, even if I enjoy the extract, I figure they've printed the most interesting bit and don't bother reading the whole book. In this case I felt almost desperate to get my hands on it- and wasn't disappointed. The book is both scholarly and very readable, sometimes humorous, but rightly angry and disturbing in parts. It is full of tips drawn from real research that you can use to counteract anyone spouting Mars & Venus type myths about men and women. If you grew up, as I did, in a non-sexist family, in a very anti-sexist country (New Zealand) and came of age at the peak of feminist consciousness, you may be as dismayed as I am about the return to intensive gender stereotyping in the world. This book helps counterbalance some of that. That said, there is a weird dissonance between the design of the book itself and the content- the cover makes it look like some piece of chick-lit, and the funky-friendly fonts inside really jar with what the words are actually saying. Deeply ironic given the subject matter. Bizarre decision by the publishers.

The voice of reason, 03 Dec 2007
I saw this in the bookshops and thought at first it was yet another Mars and Venus clone, then read an excerpt in the Guardian and went out and bought the book the same day, I was so curious to see what else Deborah Cameron had to say.

The book explains, in a clear, intelligent, fascinating and often funny way, how books such as Men Are From Mars started becoming popular, why they are popular and what serious problems can arise from the idea that men and women are unable to understand one another. Deborah Cameron takes real-life examples and really opens your eyes to the mindsets behind people's comments.

Take a look in the book and you'll be hooked. (Please write some more!)

fab little book., 10 May 2003
I was born in and lived in Liverpool all my life, I bought this as a little present for my boyfriend to help him out since he isn't local.He tells me that it's a great help, and I found it amusing to look over all the old scouse phrases. Would recomend to anyone!

A great introduction to sociolinguistics, 15 Dec 2002
This is an excellent introduction to a fascinating and budding field. Sociolinguistics is basically the study of how language interacts with society, and how it varies within and between societies. It is perhaps the more modern version of dialectology, though dialectology is still around, and Trudgill has written several other books in that field. But he fully understands the differences, and his dual expertise makes some sections of the book more interesting.

This book is one of the most readable academic books that you could pick up, especially in linguistics. Trudgill introduces sociolinguistics in ten chapters which each focus on the way language is related to certain other generally social factors. These include social class, ethnic group, sex, context, nation and five others. Trudgill is British, and therefore many of his examples have to do with Britain: the variation of English and the Celtic languages. He does not neglect looking at other Englishes, however, and this will be a definite advantage for the reader in Britain. However, other readers will not suffer, as his examples are clearly explained. Besides English and the Celtic languages of the British Isles, he also discusses countless other languages, raising interesting points and illustrating them with nice examples.

If you read this book, you will soon become an expert in basic sociolinguistics. You will find yourself using many of these examples in conversation, almost feeling that they were your own. It's a great way to get started learning about the field, and it is accessible to those already in linguistics as well as the casual reader.

Good Introduction To Sociolinguistics., 07 Sep 2000
A very good intro to this broad field of study. Trudgill makes the topic interesting, as he uses a wide range of examples to illustrate some of the main areas of Sociolinguistics.

Language and its usage effects the lives of everyone. If you want to see through the typical nonsence that people talk on the subject, get this book.

Exceptionally Well Researched and Written!, 24 Aug 2008
I read this book several years ago and found it well researched, written and easy to understand.

Deborah Tannen is a linguist who clearly addresses how and why women and men communicate differently. She explains that women communicate primarily to establish connections and negotiate relationships while men talk as a primary means to preserve independence and to negotiate and maintain status in a hierarchical social order. Tannen explains that although women also talk to preserve independence and achieve status, and men communicate to establish connections, it isn't the primary concern or focus of the majority of their conversations.

You Just Don't Understand helps a person to gain a better understanding of his or her own individual communication techniques. A well written, researched, insightful and informative book, You Just Don't Understand, presents the gender difference material in a clear, non-subjective and positive manner. This low-bias approach enhances the quality of the material significantly. The author addresses a number of other issues besides gender differences that govern communication techniques. For example, boys and girls grow up in different worlds and this has a significant effect on how they communicate. Consequently, other issues besides gender differences need to be explored and understood to create an effective dialog between the sexes.

Understanding of linguistic differences promotes better relationships. I recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about how men and women communicate.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Should be handed out with the marriage vows!, 07 Jul 2007
First thing first, I bought this book by recommendation, and have been really excited by what I found, but in a way I was not expecting. 'Women and Men in Conversation' is heavily grounded in postmodern textual analysis and teases out differences and sameness in communication styles between men and women, that go a long way to explaining the confusion and disagreements that can sometimes exist for no logical reason at all - that is if you are a bloke! But having had a handle on female sub-textual communication patterns for a number of years, I was more fascinated by the established male patterns of behaviour outlined so readily by Dr Tannen, and found myself scratching my head, as to what purpose they actually solved in a rapidly shifting society, that many commentators would argue is becoming feminised, but I would argue 'balanced'. The archetypal male energy comes across as status driven, hierarchical and superior. The archetypal female energy as informational, linking and nurturing. Conversational patterns therefore seem to be more rooted in traditional gender stereotypes of behaviour, and perhaps they will evolve over time as men learn to become more inner focused, communicative and share their flare for alpha dominance.

Definitive guide to avoiding misunderstandings with the opposite sex, 22 Apr 2007
This is one of the most usuful books ever written, and far and away the most helpful I have seen on the topic of how men and woman can understand each other better.

Dr Deborah Tannen is a professor of linguistics; her first book on the subject of communications was called "That's not what I meant." That book had ten chapters about alternative aspects of differing conversationsal styles and the misunderstandings they can cause: one of those ten chapters dealt with gender differences. But as Dr Tannen explains in the preface to this book, 90% of the feedback and requests for interviews or follow-up articles concerning that first book concentrated on 10% of it - the chapter on male-female differences.

The reason is not hard to seek. Differences in geographical origin, profession, race, class or ethnic background can easily be associated with differing communication styles which can lead to misunderstandings. However, we are not forced to build our most important and intimate relationships with people from whom we have such differences, though some choose to. But none of us can avoid having relationships central to our lives with people of the opposite sex. All of us have one parent of the other gender, the 90% of us who are heterosexuals have to look for our life-partners among the other gender, anyone who has a child has a 50% chance of having to raise someone of the other gender.

So Dr Tannen set out to explore communications and misunderstandings between men and women, and this book was the result.

I had been married less than two weeks when my wife and I managed to almost exactly act out one of the first examples of a male-female misunderstanding given in this book. Dr Tannen had presented in a Washington Post article a real-life conversation between a couple in their car.

The