American - Sociologist | June 7, 1945 -
My mother cared a lot about clothes. It was a point of friction because when I was a teenager, and I only wanted to wear my father's shirts, and I never wanted to wear makeup, she would say: 'Put on lipstick.' That was her thing.
Deborah Tannen
FatherMotherMakeupClothesSay
I would say 'woman' used to be a noun, and now it is a noun and also an adjective. And words change their functions in that way. It's one of the most common phenomena about words. They start as one thing, and they end up as something else.
ChangeWomanWordsStartEndSay
In my own writing, I avoid 'female' and try to say 'woman' because I feel that the word 'female' has connotations of not just biology but also non-human mammals. The idea of 'female' to me is more appropriate for a female animal.
WomanAnimalMeWritingBiologySay
My job is to analyze conversations and discover why communications fail.
JobWhyFailConversationsDiscover
'Right' and 'wrong' aren't words a linguist uses.
WordsWrongRightRight And Wrong
I've long believed that if you understand how conversational styles work, you can make adjustments in conversations to get what you want in your relationships.
WorkLongYouWantUnderstandGet
Our ways of relating to each other become like habits.
BecomeHabitsLikeOtherOurWays
Why don't men like to stop and ask directions? This question, which I first addressed in my 1990 book 'You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation', garnered perhaps the most attention of any issue or insight in that book.
WomenMenBookAttentionYouStop
All of us aspire to be powerful, and we all want to connect with others.
PowerfulWantOthersConnectAspire
My interest in the linguistic differences between women and men grew from research I conducted early in my career on conversations between speakers of different ethnic and regional backgrounds.
WomenMenResearchEarlyCareer
The contrasting focus on connection versus hierarchy also sheds light on innumerable adult conversations - and frustrations. Say a woman tells another about a personal problem and hears in response, 'I know how you feel' or 'the same thing happens to me.' The resulting 'troubles talk' reinforces the connection between them.
LightFocusWomanMeProblemYou
Many mothers and daughters are as close as any two people can be, but closeness always carries with it the need - indeed, the desire - to consider how your actions will affect the other person, and this can make you feel that you are no longer in control of your own life.
LifePeopleControlFeelYouPerson
Copyright © 2024 QuotesDict Deborah Tannen quotes