476 quotes by sociologists for you to enjoy

It's a particularly modern myth that married people are best friends. The best-friend concept is a uniquely female phenomena. Deborah Tannen

Best People Myth Married Married People Concept Particularly Female Friends Modern Uniquely Phenomena

I grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. For part of my life, I was living in Detroit, and I remember a friend of mine commenting she could always tell when I had been speaking to my mother because my New York accent had come back. Deborah Tannen

Life Remember Mother My Life Living Back Mine Tell Brooklyn Could Detroit Had Part New Come She Accent Because Always Been Friend Up Commenting York New York Grew Speaking

When Clinton first appeared on the national stage back in 1992, the young wife of the Arkansas governor running for president, she kept her natural-brown hair off her face with a headband. Deborah Tannen

Wife Face Hair First National Young Stage President Back Running Arkansas She Clinton Off Governor Appeared Her Kept

When did the word 'compromise' get compromised? When did the negative connotations of 'He was caught in a compromising position' or 'She compromised her ethics' replace the positive connotations of 'They reached a compromise'? Deborah Tannen

Positive Word Ethics Negative Compromise Compromised Compromising He Reached She Caught Replace Get Did Connotations Her Position

The death of compromise has become a threat to our nation as we confront crucial issues such as the debt ceiling and that most basic of legislative responsibilities: a federal budget. At stake is the very meaning of what had once seemed unshakable: 'the full faith and credit' of the U.S. government. Deborah Tannen

Death Faith Government Become Nation Our Once Responsibilities Threat Seemed Compromise Federal Crucial Had Unshakable Budget Most Issues Ceiling Debt Debt Ceiling Very Legislative Stake Confront Meaning Meaning Of Full Credit Basic

Back when the powerful 19th-century senator Henry Clay was called 'the great compromiser,' achieving a compromise really was considered great. Deborah Tannen

Great Back Considered Compromise Clay Powerful Senator Achieving Really Henry

Conflict can't be avoided in our public lives any more than we can avoid conflict with people we love. One of the great strengths of our society is that we can express these conflicts openly. Deborah Tannen

Love Great Conflict People Society Our More Openly Than Any Conflicts Public Avoid Avoided Express Lives Strengths

It is easy to understand why conflict is so often highlighted: Writers of headlines or promotional copy want to catch attention and attract an audience. They are usually under time pressure, which lures them to established, conventionalized ways of expressing ideas in the absence of leisure to think up entirely new ones. Deborah Tannen

Time Conflict Pressure Think Ways Easy Entirely Absence Writers Catch Attention Headlines New Ideas Attract Understand Audience New Ones Up Often Established Want Leisure Which Them Expressing Why Copy

As a sociolinguist, I want to know how cultural differences affect the ways people talk and listen. My research method, inspired by the work of Robin Lakoff and John Gumperz of the University of California at Berkeley, is sociolinguistic microanalysis. I tape-record and transcribe naturally occurring conversations. Deborah Tannen

Work People Differences Research Ways Berkeley John Inspired Know Talk California Robin How Method Affect Cultural Listen Want Conversations Naturally University University Of California

Most non-New Yorkers, finding themselves within hearing range of strangers' conversation, think it's nice to pretend they didn't hear. But many New Yorkers think it's nice to toss in a relevant comment. Deborah Tannen

Conversation Strangers Nice Think Range Relevant Pretend Finding Toss New Most Within Hear Hearing Comment New Yorkers Themselves Many

Much of my work over the years has developed the premise that women's styles of friendship and conversation aren't inherently better than men's, simply different. Deborah Tannen

Work Friendship Conversation Women Better Men Developed Simply Over Styles Years Than Different Much Inherently Premise

Sisters, to me, are fascinating because it is a unique connection of the coming together of connection and competition. The fact that you have these age differences is a built-in power struggle, and the fact that you're all trying to get attention and resources from the same parents creates competition. Deborah Tannen

The Pavlovian view of women voters - 'plug the words in, and they will respond' - sends a chill down my spine because it sounds like an adaptation of something I have written about communication between the sexes: When a woman tells a man about a problem, she doesn't want him to fix it; she just wants him to listen and let her know he understands. Deborah Tannen

Man Woman Women Communication Problem Words Chill Will Down Respond Sexes Tells Plug Spine About Something He Written Between Like Voters Know She Him Because Understands Sounds Fix Sends Listen Just Want Wants View Her Adaptation

America faces a new race that has awakened. E. Franklin Frazier

Faces New America Race Awakened

A person is not merely a single subject distinguished from all the others. It is especially a being to which is attributed a relative autonomy in relation to the environment with which it is most immediately in contact. Emile Durkheim

Single Others Relation Relative Immediately Distinguished Contact Environment Merely Most Attributed Subject Person Being Which Autonomy

One cannot long remain so absorbed in contemplation of emptiness without being increasingly attracted to it. In vain, one bestows on it the name of infinity; this does not change its nature. Emile Durkheim

Nature Change Long Vain Increasingly Remain Absorb Name Contemplation Attracted Emptiness Without Does Infinity Being Cannot

There are two types of men: the great and the small. Emile Durkheim

Great Men Types Small Two

To pursue a goal which is by definition unattainable is to condemn oneself to a state of perpetual unhappiness. Emile Durkheim

State Definition Unattainable Oneself Pursue Condemn Perpetual Goal Which Unhappiness

Religious representations are collective representations which express collective realities. Emile Durkheim

Collective Religious Which Realities Express

The individual can maintain himself in a society definitely organized only through possessing an equally definite mental and moral constitution. This is what the neuropath lacks. His state of disturbance causes him to be constantly taken by surprise by circumstances. Emile Durkheim

Constitution Society State Definite Definitely Possessing Circumstances Moral Constantly Disturbance Mental Only Individual Through Taken Maintain Him Himself Equally Causes Surprise His Lacks Organized

That men have an interest in knowing the world which surrounds them, and consequently that their reflection should have been applied to it at an early date, is something that everyone will readily admit. Emile Durkheim

World Reflection Will Men Everyone Admit Something Date Knowing Readily Been Surrounds Which Interest Them Should Applied Early Consequently

A monomaniac is a sick person whose mentality is perfectly healthy in all respects but one; he has a single flaw, clearly localized. At times, for example, he has an unreasonable and absurd desire to drink or steal or use abusive language; but all his other acts and all his other thoughts are strictly correct. Emile Durkheim

Thoughts Language Example Single Healthy Sick Other Strictly Correct Respects Steal Unreasonable Drink Mentality He Perfectly Absurd Clearly For Example His Times Person Flaw Use Whose Acts Desire

Quotes by Sociologists