Monday, November 3, 2008
Alumnus Investigates Verbal Blunders
What are the origins of the Freudian slip? How are hesitations and interruptions useful to cops and interrogators? Why do President Bush’s verbal gaffes, such as “misunderestimate,” fascinate people?
These are just a few of the questions alumnus Michael Erard (M.A. Linguistics, ‘96; Ph.D. English, ‘00) tackles in “Um…: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean” (Random House, 2007), now out in paperback.
According to Erard, everyday speech is filled with verbal blunders—approximately one in every 10 words.
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