Let's Talk: How English Conversation Works

by David Crystal

Banter, chit-chat, gossip, natter, tete-a-tete: these are just a few of the terms for the varied ways in which we interact with one another through conversation. David Crystal explores the factors that motivate so many different kinds of talk and reveals the rules we use unconsciously, even in the most routine exchanges of everyday conversation. We tend to think of conversation as something spontaneous, instinctive, habitual. It has been described as an art, as a game, sometimes even as a battle. Whichever metaphor we use, most people are unaware of what the rules are, how they work, and how we can bend and break them when circumstances warrant it.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language, Linguistics, Writing

224 pages, Hardcover

Published July 1, 2020

About the author

David Crystal works from his home in Holyhead, North Wales, as a writer, editor, lecturer, and broadcaster. Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland in 1941, he spent his early years in Holyhead. His family moved to Liverpool in 1951, and he received his secondary schooling at St Mary's College. He read English at University College London (1959-62), specialised in English language studies, did some research there at the Survey of English Usage under Randolph Quirk (1962-3), then joined academic life as a lecturer in linguistics, first at Bangor, then at Reading. He published the first of his 100 or so books in 1964, and became known chiefly for his research work in English language studies, in such fields as intonation and stylistics, and in the application of linguistics to religious, educational and clinical contexts, notably in the development of a range of linguistic profiling techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. He held a chair at the University of Reading for 10 years, and is now Honorary Professor of Linguistics at the University of Wales, Bangor. These days he divides his time between work on language and work on internet applications.

source: http://www.davidcrystal.com/

Reviews

[Angie Boyter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tremendous amount of attention has been given over the years to writing, good and bad, and some as well to oratory, but most people have probably never seen an extended discussion of conversation, which is a mode of communication most people use more than either of the other two. Certainly none of my teachers ever taught us about conversation, and they probably never studied it themselves. We all just DO it. Nonetheless, there are rules that we follow unconsciously, and in Let’s Talk linguist David Crystal explores the different kinds of talk in which we all engage, what motivates us to have a conversation, what rules or conventions we follow, and what the repercussions might be if we go against convention. He discusses factors like pauses, interruptions, phatic conversation, and whether a conversation must have a topic.
People have probably been conversing as long as we have had language, and Crystal looks at the history of conversation that shows its universality and its popularity. There is a passage of conversation from the historian and saint Bede from the early eighth century and a description of “conversation chairs” in the eighteenth century. He also includes observations on conversation from sources ranging from Montaigne to J. R. R. Tolkien.
In earlier days conversation was always face-to-face, but modern technology enables us to “converse”, in Crystal’s opinion, using other media like telephones or online chats. Crystal also takes a look at these other media and their special conventions and challenges.
Like many conversations, Let’s Talk is wide-ranging and covers a lot of ground. As a result, like many conversations, it at times seems a bit disorganized or somewhat off-topic, but unlike many conversations, at least it always does return to its main theme.
As everyone knows, a great deal of the communication in conversation is nonverbal (and often unconscious), through mechanisms like body language, inflections, and pauses. Crystal tries to convey some of this through a convention in which he inserts / to show the boundary of an intonation or rhythm unit, a . for a short pause, a – for a longer pause, a * for overlapping speech, and ( ) to enclose “simultaneous feedback” (a polite way to say “interruption”). It was a valiant effort, but it made the conversations he quotes so hard to read that I confess I skipped over many of them.
Reading the book has influenced me, though. It has made me a closer observer of conversation around me and the conversations in which I participate. For example, Crystal devotes a whole chapter to greetings and farewells, and it has been fun for me to observe aspects of greetings that we normally never think about. How do I decide whether to greet someone, and if so, do I just smile and nod or say, Good morning” or “Hi there”? And suppose I have already seen them once that day? I have entertained myself by greeting someone in a manner slightly different than my usual mode. And I notice more consciously how they greet me.
Despite its flaws, there is a wealth of new-to-me and interesting information in Let’s Talk. And it just might help me be a better conversationalist. Wanna chat?
My thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for an advance review copy of this book.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't David Crystal's finest work, but it's a lighthearted and informative look into the hidden rules and structures of conversation in English.

The book meanders a bit (much like any worthwhile conversation), but it's full of interesting tidbits and insights into conversational aspects like turn-taking, interrupting, topical allusions, telephone and online etiquette, vocal and visual cues in conversation, cultural conflicts, and language change.

Interesting enough for an English speaker, but I'll be more keen as an English language teacher to build a few lesson plans for English conversation classes from this book. Some of the examples and explanations here would be extremely helpful in building conversational skills for English learners and helping them to understand the flow and expectations of a conversation. Crystal even anticipates this, building in a few examples of how English conversation differs in reality from dialogues in ELT textbooks.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is odd to say "good morning" to someone more than once in a day, but not odd to say "goodbye" multiple times? You probably don't think about that, but that is one of the unspoken rules of English conversation etiquette.

Linguistics is really a very commonplace topic, but it's so commonplace that we often don't stop to think about how it is that our language works. Want to feel a little more self conscious? Read this book about the facets that make up English conversation. It's pretty obvious stuff when you stop and think about it, but it's always helpful for someone to point out what there actually is to think about.

[Freya Turton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very accessible introduction into the art of conversation and some of its features, which allows readers of any degree of knowledge of the English language to enjoy this book. ‘Let’s talk’ doesn’t go into as much depth as some readers may like, only scratching the surface of some of the technical elements. However, from Crystals more witty and informal tone, it’s clear that he is not aiming for an academic piece of writing made for research purposes, but satisfy those with a general interest in the subject, which it does very well.

[Helen Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole thing is excellent apart from the fact that it only scrapes the surface of most of the points. Not enough detail is gone into which left me feeling frustrated. This is quite a slim book and it could have easily been twice the length with more detail, including transcripts, and more explanations of the findings of the research.
I wanted much more from this!

[Mjke · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about conversation, what it is, and how it’s changed. Not a promising topic. In fact this is a fascinating and entertaining read that had me annoying my wife with constant “hey, let be read you this bit” interruptions.

[Bronislav Sobotka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I genuinely admire David Crystal and his work and so I feel really bad for giving just three stars, but I really didn’t enjoy the book and don’t want to pretend otherwise. It had to force myself to finish it since I was getting bored after a few pages....

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

[Petra J Witowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great explanation of how conversation works and coincided well with my studies. Found this easier to follow than some of my readings.

[Callen DeWit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting and British! But based on the last chapter or so I want a whole book on Internet communication including using gestures in asterisks (*shudders excitedly*) to show nuance.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant!

[Mark Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. The only thing I did not like was how short the chapters are. Every single chapter was almost 100% interesting and that's just not very common, even with most good books.
Authors generally run out of things to say and you find that you simply aren't engaged with a portion of a given chapter. Not the case with this book: If you enjoy reading about how the English language works, particularly in relation to people learning English as a foreign language, do yourself a favor and get this book. Just be prepared to buy a larger book (probably by the same author) if the subject is something you enjoy learning about.