![Tannen Deborah Aif2018](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0d51ab63-6b76-4fe6-a481-020da930abbb/Tannen_Deborah_AIF2018.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=290&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C1000&w=290)
Deborah Tannen
Linguistics Professor, Georgetown University; Author, You're the Only One I Can Tell
Deborah Tannen is a University Professor and professor of linguistics at Georgetown University. Her most recent book is You’re the Only One I Can Tell: Inside the Language of Women’s Friendships; best-sellers include You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation; You’re Wearing THAT?; and You Were Always Mom’s Favorite!. A frequent guest on TV and radio, Tannen has been featured in and written for major newspapers and magazines. She’s the author or editor of 16 books and over 100 articles for scholarly audiences, and has held visiting positions at Princeton University, the Institute for Advanced Study, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.
Previously
![Words on the Move](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/aad88b6e-a99e-4254-aec4-501047437a0f/42329822074_c7bcee511f_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C35%2C1600%2C900&w=400)
The evolution of the English language is more often thought of as a devolution, particularly with the infiltration of texting abbreviations and jargon into our everyday use. J...
![His and Hers: A Gender-Informed Guide to Friendship](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/84d8d846-7e84-4076-9f82-c90d1ae2689f/43046637791_96ccd18a16_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C61%2C3000%2C1688&w=400)
How friends talk to each other can either bring them closer or pull them apart. From chatting and teasing to confiding, arguing, and ghosting, what are the patterns of communi...
![Deep Dive: Can Americans Come Together by Arguing Better?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/46eb45b3-f5bf-44b4-85bd-8b01760c9432/42974747102_8207bc4b5a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C62%2C3000%2C1684&w=400)
We don’t need fewer arguments in American civic life today, we need less stupid ones. That means we need arguments that are more emotionally intelligent and more deeply rooted...
![Just Words: Do We Control Language or Does Language Control Us?](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/5e7ad977-49f1-4505-b447-d07ceba09d82/29153183908_ccd6e89bf2_h.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C167%2C1600%2C899&w=400)
Words come at us in print, online, and on the air; in podcasts, movies, editorials, and advertorials; through e-mail, texts, and tweets. Words may shock, like those of Samanth...