Praise for Like, Literally, Dude : "With easygoing authority. [Fridland] offers context, and a welcoming spirit, to the many contentious realignments in our language." --The Wall Street Journal "A smart and detailed apologia for speech habits that 'violate our sense of linguistic decorum'. Scholarly yet accessible, and often very witty, this is a winning look at how language evolves." --Publishers Weekly "Valerie Fridland knows everything you ever wondered about language. With a parade of revelations in each chapter, she will have you texting your friends with mind-blowing tidbits."-- Mignon Fogarty , author of New York Times bestseller Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing "Language lovers and grammar lovers alike will revel in Fridland's scientifically informed--and humane--perspective on the linguistic habits you love to use or love to hate. You'll never think the same way about others'--or your own--sprinkling of likes and y'knows, dudes and vocal fry.

Thanks to Fridland, you'll ask not what grammar rule is being broken but what social purpose is being served." -- Deborah Tannen , university professor of linguistics, Georgetown University, and New York Times best-selling author of You Just Don't Understand and You're Wearing THAT? "Did you know that it was women who started saying 'I've got to' more than 'must,' or that the -in' in words like singin' isn't short for -ing but for something else in Old English? Like, Literally, Dude will give you the lowdown on that as well as the words in its title. Endless wisdom." -- John McWhorter , author of Nine Nasty Words and host of the podcast Lexicon Valley "Convinced that English is dying before your eyes? Never fear-- Like, Literally, Dude is here to help you lose your language blues. In this deft, eye-opening narrative, linguist Valerie Fridland wittily illuminates the social and historical forces behind some of our more vilified language habits. It will leave you marveling at human linguistic inventiveness." -- Ellen Jovin , author of Rebel with a Clause "That rare gem that combines authoritative scholarship with engaging readability. Through a series of stories on the historical origins and social uses of an array of 'annoying' language features, Fridland shows us how they actually serve to enrich the English language.

" -- Natalie Schilling , professor of linguistics at Georgetown University and creator of The Great Courses' English in America.