September 2013
Beginner
320 pages
6h 20m
English
What our use of function words says about us.
Function words – which include articles (a, the), pronouns (you, they), prepositions (to, for), and auxiliary verbs (is, have) – account for only around 0.5 per cent of the average speaker’s vocabulary, yet make up over half of all words actually spoken. According to James Pennebaker, a social psychologist from the University of Texas, it’s these few words that can provide the biggest insight into someone’s character – such as how confident they are or the truthfulness of what they are saying. Over the past 20 years ...
Read now
Unlock full access