How You Say It
By Katherine Kinzler
Why You Talk the Way You Do—and What It Says About You. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020.
Summary of How You Say It book by Katherine Kinzler
An insightful look at the relationship between the way we speak and our identities, social lives, and the world we live in—highlighting the often–overlooked linguistic biases that perpetuate inequality and the inspirational ways that language can connect us.
Chapters in How You Say It book summary
What do you get from this book? An eye-opening view of the ways we are defined—and define others—through language
We often overlook the importance of language in social life; how we talk matters in profound ways
As languages constantly evolve, our ways of speaking define us and reveal who we aspire to be
Children have a remarkable ability to learn language and adapt to different linguistic environments
Linguistic differences can be deeply divisive, as some ways of speaking are deemed more valuable than others
Discrimination based on how people speak has damaging effects, and communication is always a two–way street
Our tendency to differentiate between social groups was ingrained through evolution, and language is a particularly deep-seated form of difference
Children are taught that some ways of speaking are better than others and that linguistic bias is perfectly acceptable
Biases against nonstandard ways of speaking can have serious consequences—in the courtroom, classroom, and nearly everywhere else
The myth that children should only learn one language has been debunked; raising children bilingual is not only possible but beneficial
We must use the power of language to bring people together rather than divide them
Summary of the key insights
Selected critiques in brief
Final word
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How You Say It — Book Summary Snapshot
Who should read How You Say It book
- Linguistics students
- social scientists
- bilingual and multilingual people
- language nerds
- people learning a second language
About the author of How You Say It
Katherine Kinzler
Katherine D. Kinzler is a social and developmental psychologist and professor at the University of Chicago; she has a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Kinzler researches the relationship between discrimination, language, and social groups. Her writing has been published in The New York Times and she was named one of fifty scientists under forty by the World Economic Forum.
Books similar to How You Say It
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The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education. Penguin Publishing Group, 2015.
Benedict Carey
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Guy Deutscher
Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. Picador, 2011.
Gretchen McCulloch
Understanding the New Rules of Language. Riverhead Book, 2019.
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