Deborah Tannen Quotes
The long history of conversations that family members share contributes not only to how listeners interpret words but also to how speakers choose them.
Quotes to Explore
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I always point out to my Passover guests that the Hebrews were not living in isolation. They were at the crossroads of several great, elaborate cultures with their own mythology and religion and art and architecture and cultural belief. In fact, so many of the mythologies of the world describe the same events, just from different points of view.
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I did a film called 'Fire with Fire.'
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All I know is stars and hits, you know what I mean? I don't just sign a guy because he has a hot record. I sign a guy because he's a star. He's a pillar of the community.
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I was never offended that people underestimated me because of my appearance or that they thought I was pretty and discouraged me from fighting because they didn't want me to risk hurting my looks.
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If I have a 100 percent batting average, you should fire me, because it means we haven't tried anything really noble.
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Yeah, I'm from Jersey; it's almost like I was automatically born a Nets fan.
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On a personal level, I love the idea of hosting an awards show. I think that sounds like kind of a fun thing to do.
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Acting is the work of two people - it's only possible when you have the complicity, the help, even the manipulation of a director.
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The mere fact that so many continue to rise, year after year, out of just such conditions as you may think are fatal to your advancement, ought to convince you that you also can conquer your environment.
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Some people can be choosy because they're ultratalented or lucky or whatever, but yeah, there are certain things that might not be the greatest thing on my resume. But I don't sit back and go, 'Gosh, I wish I didn't do that.' It's all part of the growth of a career, whether you're an entertainer or a librarian.
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I'm not a Facebook/Twitter gal, but my husband is.
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You know, we've got to this place, where you go to a movie for one particular surgical fix. So, it's like, I want the pulse-pounding action, or the insane falling-off-my-seat comedy, or the devastating, heart-breaking drama.
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My whole back's tattooed. I just wanted a twist. I was always in punk bands when I was little... I think that's where the tie comes from.
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I'd rather go to a flea market than just about anything. It's the process I like - the same with getting dressed. If I've got someplace to be, I'll spend more time getting dressed than I spent at the actual event. Sometimes. Even in my own closet, I love to dig and search and find.
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Science does not limit itself merely to what is currently verifiable. But it is interested in questions that are potentially verifiable (or, rather, falsifiable).
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I don't write a great song every day. I don't write a great song every couple weeks. It comes in such random times.
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Charles McCarry is the best modern writer on the subject of intrigue - by the breadth of Alan Furst, by the fathom of Eric Ambler, by any measure.
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The thing that I've always been slightly frustrated with, was that the idea of a CD is kind of confined to a material possession that you can put on a shelf. And the idea of music, for me, is always about both the communication and the sharing of content. And so the interactive part is missing.
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I've always been very shy of doing television. I've always said 'no.' Not to be disrespectful to anyone - I didn't want to say 'yes' and then let people down.
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The September 11th, 2012, attacks on the State Department compound in Benghazi, Libya, is important and should be studied because in the big picture, it represents a failed foreign policy that spans across both Bush and Obama Presidencies.
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I think they should have a Barbie with a buzz cut.
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The seed for my novel 'Half Brother' was planted in my mind over twenty years ago, but didn't germinate until late 2007 when I came across the obituary for Washoe, an extraordinary chimpanzee who had learned over 250 words of American Sign Language.
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I have no desire to suffer twice, in reality and then in retrospect.
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The long history of conversations that family members share contributes not only to how listeners interpret words but also to how speakers choose them.
