"Language can divide us, but it can also bring us together," writes Katherine D. Kinzler, a University of Chicago professor who endeavors to deconstruct how language and accent have a much deeper effect on daily life than one might realize. How You Say It, Kinzler's first book, examines why it is not only what people say that matters, but how they say it, and how and why language use is an even more intrinsic part of identity than other more visible signifiers.
Kinzler looks at how babies learn language, and through it, learn to recognize "in" and "out" groups. From there, language can shape discrimination and biases in children that they can then enact or be affected by as adults later on. Kinzler uses research--her own and that of others--and case studies to show how a part of language and communication taken most for granted can actually be filled with prejudices and strongly influence the construction of social identity in various settings. She also deconstructs some popular advice about language learning, and demonstrates how exposure to multiple languages can be valuable, and not just from a young age, when it is more likely that someone will gain mastery of a second language or multiple languages.
"By changing our relationship to language... we can harness the power of speech for the good. The time for this revolution is now," she writes, further connecting the data uncovered in various experiments on language and social interaction to a poignant point about how such research has real implications for improving societies. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer