What an Accent Can – and Can’t – Say About You

KQED's Forum

KQED

News, Politics, News Commentary

4.2 • 726 Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2026

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Everyone has an accent, even people who don’t think they do. That’s according to linguist Valerie Fridland, who studies the way American accents have been shaped by centuries of culture and class. In her new book, “Why We Talk Funny”, Fridland shares how different American accents developed, why some are dying off and the way they influence how we see each other and ourselves. Guests: Valerie Fridland, professor of linguistics, University of Nevada, Reno Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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1:05.1	From KQED.
1:07.6	Welcome to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
1:10.1	What makes an accent? And did you know to many in the rest of the world,
1:13.6	and maybe even to you, California's accent is considered closest to a neutral, American-ish one,
1:20.5	minus the exaggerated valley or surfer speak, of course. Linguist Valerie Friedland has written a book
1:26.7	about how accents form and change
1:28.4	over time, the social meanings we give them, and what might be driving how accents are changing
	...

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