Author: John Haiman
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198027508
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 231
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Book Description
Putting aside questions of truth and falsehood, the old "talk is cheap" maxim carries as much weight as ever. Indeed, perhaps more. For one need not be an expert in irony or sarcasm to realize that people don't necessarily mean what they say. Phrases such as "Yeah, right" and "I couldn't care less" are so much a part of the way we speak--and the way we live--that we are more likely to notice when they are absent (for example, Forrest Gump). From our everyday dialogues and conversations ("Thanks a lot!") to the screenplays of our popular films (Pulp Fiction and Fargo), what is said is frequently very different from what is meant. Talk is Cheap begins with this telling observation and proceeds to argue that such "unplain speaking" is fundamentally embedded in the way we now talk. Author John Haiman traces this sea-change in our use of language to the emergence of a postmodern "divided self" who is hyper-conscious that what he or she is saying has been said before; "cheap talk" thus allows us to distance ourselves from a social role with which we are uncomfortable. Haiman goes on to examine the full range of these pervasive distancing mechanisms, from clichés and quotation marks to camp and parody. Also, and importantly, this text highlights several new ways in which the English language is evolving (and has evolved) in response to our postmodern world view. In other words, this study shows us how what we are saying is gradually separating itself from how we say it. As provocative as it is timely, the book will be fascinating reading for students of linguistics, literature, communication, anthropology, philosophy, and popular culture.
Author: James E. Gaskin
Publisher: "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
ISBN: 9780596009601
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 274
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Book Description
Fed up with the high tolls charged by your ordinary telephone service? If you're itching to cut the copper cord with your costly, traditional phone service, you need Talk is Cheap, the new, easy-to-understand guide to understanding and using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and other Internet telephone options.Technologies such as VoIP are gaining a great deal of attention these days as more people switch from standard telephone service to phone service via the Internet. But while the cost savings are outstanding, there are some issues with Internet telephony that you should know about. Are the connections reliable? Is the quality comparable? Will it include 911 services?James Gaskin's Talk is Cheap addresses these issues and many more by explaining how to make the switch and what the tradeoffs will be if you opt for Internet telephony over traditional phone services.Talk is Cheap focuses on the increasingly popular services from Vonage, which uses VoIP, and Skype--a free service that operates as a peer-to-peer (P2P) network with the ability to turn any PC, Mac, or Pocket PC into a telephone. The book explains your options; explores the background behind, the workings of, and differences between VoIP and P2P networks; and discusses the advantages and drawbacks of both technologies (including service offerings, quality, capabilities, completion rates, and more).Talk is Cheap then goes into detail on what you can expect in Internet service from traditional phone companies such as Verizon and AT&T. In addition, you will learn more advanced techniques, including how to turn your Palm or Pocket PC into an Internet phone and how to work with Wi-Fi phones and videophones.A straightforward, quick introduction to the ins and outs of using Internet telephone services, this book provides everything you need to make informed telephone decisions--whether you're thinking about the switch from traditional phone service or have already made it and want to get the most out of your new Internet telephone.
Author: Robert W. Crandall
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815719701
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311
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Book Description
The rapid pace of technological change is placing the world's telephone companies in a very difficult position. Fiber optics cables, wireless telephones, digital signal compression, and sophisticated new switching equipment are lowering the cost of providing service and opening the gates to new competition. At the same time, these new technologies are providing the telephone companies with a wide array of new market opportunities. Unfortunately, their status as regulated carriers makes it difficult to exploit these new opportunities and to fend off competitive assaults on their traditional telephone business. As long as they are regulated, they can be accused of using their monopoly services to cross-subsidize new competitive ventures. But partial deregulation and open entry would be a catastrophe for them unless they were allowed to revise their rate structure. There is a widespread misconception that the U.S. telecommunications industry has been "deregulated" and that Canadian authorities are following the U.S. lead. In fact, most services remain regulated, even though some markets, such as long-distance services, equipment sales and rentals, and local services, have been opened up. This book reviews the recent changes in the structure of U.S. and Canadian telecommunications industries and the changes in regulatory policy on both sides of the border. The authors analyze the effects of these changes in regulation on telephone rates in both the local and long-distance markets with particular emphasis on the impacts of regulatory reforms and competition on long-distance rates. They use their results to suggest how regulation should be structured to allow competition to replace monopoly on the road to the information superhighway. The authors contend that for decades misguided regulation of the telephone sector in both Canada and the U.S. denied consumers the benefits of competition, distorted local and long-distance telephone rates, and blocked en
Author: John McWhorter
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0593330544
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 436
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Book Description
“McWhorter is a gifted young linguist who seeks to understand the change in our verbal habits rather than just bemoan it, and his analysis is insightful, richly documented and, yes, eloquently written.”—Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate and The Language Instinct In Doing Our Own Thing, critically acclaimed linguist and cultural critic John McWhorter traces the precipitous decline of language in contemporary America, arguing persuasively that casual everyday speech has conquered the formal in all arenas, from oratory to poetry to everyday journalism—and has even had dire consequences for our musical culture. McWhorter argues that the swift and startling change in written and oral communication emanated from the countercultural revolution of the 1960s and its ideology that established forms and formality were autocratic and artificial. While acknowledging that the evolution of language is, in and of itself, inevitable and often benign, he warns that the near-total loss of formal expression in America is unprecedented in modern history and has reached a crisis point in our culture such that our very ability to convey ideas and arguments effectively is gravely threatened. By turns compelling and harrowing, passionate and judicious, Doing Our Own Thing is required reading for all concerned about the state of our language—and the future of intellectual life in America.
Author: Joshua St. Pierre
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472055348
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 181
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Book Description
In Cheap Talk: Disability and the Politics of Communication, Joshua St. Pierre flips the script on communication disability, positioning the unruly, disabled speaker at the center of analysis to challenge the belief that more communication is unquestionably good. Working with Gilles Deleuze’s suggestion that “[w]e don’t suffer these days from any lack of communication, but rather from all the forces making us say things when we’ve nothing much to say,” St. Pierre brings together the unlikely trio of the dysfluent speaker, the talking head, and the troll to show how speech is made cheap—and produced and repaired within human bodies—to meet the inhuman needs of capital. The book explores how technologies, like social media and the field of speech-language pathology, create smooth sites of contact that are exclusionary for disabled speakers and looks to the political possibilities of disabled voices to “de-face” the power of speech now entwined with capital.
Author: Minnesota John Haiman Professor of Linguistics Macalester College
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195354060
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 234
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Book Description
Putting aside questions of truth and falsehood, the old "talk is cheap" maxim carries as much weight as ever. Indeed, perhaps more. For one need not be an expert in irony or sarcasm to realize that people don't necessarily mean what they say. Phrases such as "Yeah, right" and "I couldn't care less" are so much a part of the way we speak--and the way we live--that we are more likely to notice when they are absent (for example, Forrest Gump). From our everyday dialogues and conversations ("Thanks a lot!") to the screenplays of our popular films (Pulp Fiction and Fargo), what is said is frequently very different from what is meant. Talk is Cheap begins with this telling observation and proceeds to argue that such "unplain speaking" is fundamentally embedded in the way we now talk. Author John Haiman traces this sea-change in our use of language to the emergence of a postmodern "divided self" who is hyper-conscious that what he or she is saying has been said before; "cheap talk" thus allows us to distance ourselves from a social role with which we are uncomfortable. Haiman goes on to examine the full range of these pervasive distancing mechanisms, from cliches and quotation marks to camp and parody. Also, and importantly, this text highlights several new ways in which the English language is evolving (and has evolved) in response to our postmodern world view. In other words, this study shows us how what we are saying is gradually separating itself from how we say it. As provocative as it is timely, the book will be fascinating reading for students of linguistics, literature, communication, anthropology, philosophy, and popular culture.
Author: Jim McCann
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0544114329
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 211
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Book Description
How to lead through conversation from the founder and CEO of 1-800-Flowers.com, the world's largest florist. "
Author: Matthew Kay
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003841813
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 165
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Book Description
Do you know how to initiate and facilitate productive dialogues about race in your classroom? Are you prepared to handle complex topics while keeping your students engaged?Inspired by Frederick Douglass's abolitionist call to action, it is not light that is needed, but fire-, author Matthew Kay demonstrateshow to move beyond surface-level discussionsand lead students through the most difficult race conversations. In Not Light, But Fire: How to Lead Meaningful Race Conversations in the Classroom, Kay recognizes we often never graduate to the harder conversations,so he offers a method for getting them right, providing candid guidance on: How torecognize the difference between meaningful and inconsequential race conversations.How tobuild conversational safe spaces,- not merely declare them.How toinfuse race conversations with urgency and purpose.How tothrive in the face of unexpected challenges.How administrators mightequip teachers to thoughtfully engage in these conversations.With the right blend of reflection and humility, Kay assertsteachers can make school one of the best venues for young people to discuss race.
Author: Trudy Ludwig
Publisher: Tricycle Press
ISBN: 1582462402
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 33
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Book Description
Maya's friend Bailey loves to talk about everything and everyone. At first, Maya thinks Bailey is funny. But when Bailey's talk leads to harmful rumors and hurt feelings, Maya begins to think twice about their friendship. In her fourth book for children, relational aggression expert Trudy Ludwig acquaints readers with the damaging consequences of "trouble talk"-talking to others about someone else's troubles in order to establish connection and gain attention. Includes additional resources for kids, parents, and teachers, as well as advice from Trudy about how to combat trouble talk. Trudy Ludwig's books have sold more than 50,000 copies. Includes foreword by Dr. Charisse L. Nixon, author of Girl Wars: 12 Strategies That Will End Female Bullying.
Author: Jane M. Shattuc
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136656790
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 251
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Book Description
The Talking Cure examines four nationally syndicated television talk shows--Donahue, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Geraldo and Sally Jessy Raphael--which are primarily devoted to feminine culture and issues. Serving as one of the few public forums where working-class women and those with different sexual orientations have a voice, these talk shows represent American TV at its most radical. Shattuc examines the tension between talk's feminist politics and the television industry, who, in their need to appeal to women, trades on sensation, stereotypes and fears in order to engender product consumption. However, this genre is not a one-way form of social interaction. The female audience complies and resists in a complex give-and-take, and it is this relationship which The Talking Cure aims to understand and reveal.
