DEBORAH TANNEN
Department of Linguistics
Georgetown University
Washington, DC 20057
202/687-5910
Education
Ph.D. Linguistics. University of California, Berkeley. 1979
M.A. Linguistics. University of California, Berkeley. 1976
M.A. English Literature. Wayne State University. 1970
B.A. English Literature. Harpur College. 1966
Diploma. Hunter College High School. New York, NY. 1962
Honorary Doctorates
University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 2002
St. Mary's College, St. Mary's City, MD, 1998
Weber State University, Ogden, UT, 1997
St. Michael's College, Colchester, VT, 1996
Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY, 1993
Professional Positions
University Professor, Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University, 1991-present
1989-1991: Professor, Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University
1985-1989: Associate Professor, Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University
1979-1985: Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University
Visiting
2012-2013 Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
June 1997 Faculty, 1997 Linguistic Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
1992-1993 Fellow, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA
Spring 1992 Visiting Scholar, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ
Fall 1991 McGraw Distinguished Lecturer, Council for the Humanities and
Department of Anthropology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
1986-1987 Research Associate, Joint Program in Applied Anthropology, Teachers College,
Columbia University, New York, NY
Administrative Positions
Organizer and Chair (with Anna Marie Trester), Georgetown University Round Table on
Languages and Linguistics 2011, "Discourse 2.0: Language and New Media"
Organizer and Chair (with James Alatis), Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and
Linguistics 2001, "Linguistics, Language, and the Real World: Discourse and Beyond"
Head, Sociolinguistics Program, Georgetown University, spring 1988
Director, 1985 LSA/TESOL Institute, "Linguistics and Language in Context: The Interdependence of Theory, Data, and Application," Georgetown University, summer 1985. A joint six-week Institute combining the 52nd Linguistic Institute of the Linguistic Society of America and the 7th Summer Institute of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, held at Georgetown University. This Institute brought together 60 faculty and nearly 600 students and visiting scholars to participate in courses and special events
Director, NEH-supported Institute, "Humanistic Approaches to Linguistic Analysis," Georgetown University, summer 1985. This four-week Institute brought 25 college and university faculty who teach beginning and intermediate-level linguistics and language-related courses to participate in a separate program at the site of the 1985 LSA/TESOL Institute
Organizer and Chair (with James Alatis), Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and
Linguistics 1985, "Languages and Linguistics: The Interdependence of Theory, Data, and
Application"
Director, public presentation, "He Says/ She Says: Women and Men Talking," July
1985. Supported in part by a grant from the District of Columbia Community
Humanities Council and aimed at a broad audience, this public presentation
combined comments by a panel of scholars with dramatizations by actors from
Horizons Theater
Organizer, Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 1981,
"Analyzing Discourse: Text and Talk"
Service on Boards
PEN/Faulkner Foundation, 2001-present
Chair, PEN/Malamud Award for Short Fiction Committee, 2004-present
Program for Jewish Civilization, Georgetown University, 2007-present
Planet Word Advisory Board, 2016-present
The Institute for Intercultural Studies, 1999-2009
Horizons Theater, 1998-2007
Oxygen/Markle Pulse, 1999-2001
Center for Applied Linguistics, 1996-2002
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Fellowships and Grants
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Fellowship, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 2012-2013
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, "Framing Family: Managing Conflict, Negotiating
Identities in Dual-Income Families," 2004-2005
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, "Mothers and Fathers at Work and at Home: Creating
Parental Identities through Talk," 1999-2001
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, "A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Mothers' and Fathers'
Language at Work," 1997-1998
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Fellowship, Stanford, CA, 1992-1993
Georgetown University Summer Research Grant, 1989
National Endowment for the Humanities, Basic Research Grant Renewal,
"Conversational and Literary Discourse," 1988-1989
National Endowment for the Humanities, Basic Research Division Grant,
"Conversational and Literary Discourse," 1986-1988
National Science Foundation Travel Grant to attend XIV International Congress of
Linguists, Berlin, GDR, 1987
American Council of Learned Societies Travel Grant to attend World Congress of
Sociology, New Delhi, India, 1986
National Endowment for the Humanities, to direct Institute "Humanistic Approaches
to Linguistic Analysis," summer 1985
National Science Foundation, Linguistics Division, for conference "Language and the Judicial Process," 1985 (with Anne Walker)
District of Columbia Community Humanities Council Grant, "A Linguistic Approach
to Male/Female Miscommunication," July 1985; for public presentation
Rockefeller Humanities Fellowship "The Dynamics of Literary Language and
Ordinary Conversation," 1982-1983
Georgetown University Summer Research Grant, 1982
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend "Spoken and Written Narrative in English and Greek," 1980
Georgetown University Summer Research Grant, 1980
Danforth Graduate Fellowship, 1977-1979
Awards and Honors
Linguistic Society of America Society of Fellows, inducted January 2013
Books for a Better Life Award for You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in
Conversation Throughout Their Lives, 2010
Linguistics, Language, and the Public Award, Linguistic Society of America, 2005
Woman of Distinction Award, American Association of University Women, May 2004
Books for a Better Life Award for I Only Say This Because I Love You, 2001
Common Ground Book Award for The Argument Culture, 1998
Matrix Award for Professional Achievement, Association for Women in
Communications, 1998
Women Mean Business Award, Business and Professional Women's Association, 1998
Weaver Award in Cross-Cultural Communication, American University, 1998
Woman of Distinction Award, Kingsborough Community College, 1997
Arts Achievement Award, Wayne State University, 1996
Outstanding Book Award, Organization for the Study of Communication, Language,
and Gender, for You Just Don't Understand, 1990-1991
Adele Starbird Memorial Award, Washington University, 1991
Professional Organizations and Offices Held
Linguistic Society of America
Public Relations Committee; Nominating Committee; Program Committee;
Committee on Institutes and Fellowships; Committee on Linguistics, Language, and the Public Interest
Modern Language Association
Executive Committees: Division on Language Theory; Division on Language and Society
American Association for Applied Linguistics
Chair, Nominating Committee; Member-at-large, Executive Committee;
Future Planning Task Force
International Pragmatics Association
Charter Member, Consultation Board
American Anthropological Association
American Dialect Society
The Authors Guild
Editorial
Current:
Language in Society (Associate Editor)
Pragmatics and Cognition (Board of Consulting Editors)
Text & Talk (Advisory Board)
Gender and Language (Advisory Board)
Journal of Pragmatics (Honorary Board)
Discourse Studies (Honorary Board)
Editorial Board Member, journals (past):
American Speech, Discourse Processes, Gender and Language, Journal of Pragmatics, Language Sciences, Linguistics and Education, Oral Tradition, Research on Language and Social Interaction, World Englishes, Center for the Study of Writing, University of California, Berkeley & Carnegie Mellon
Section Editor (written language section):
Oxford International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
Editorial Board, book series:
Oxford Studies in Language and Gender, Oxford University Press
Studies in Pragmatics, Elsevier
Referee, journals:
American Anthropologist, Anthropologica, Anthropological Quarterly, Applied Linguistics,
Discourse and Society, Ethnos, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, Journal of American Folklore, Journal of Communication, Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, Journal of Modern Greek Studies, Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Language, Language Learning, Medical Anthropology Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, Studies in African Linguistics, Style, Social Problems, Social Psychology Quarterly
Proposal Reviewer, granting institutions:
National Endowment for the Humanities; National Science Foundation; National Institute of Mental Health; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada; National Institute of Education; Australian Research Council; Research Grants Committee, Israel Science Foundation
Panel member, granting institutions:
CIES (Fulbright) Discipline Screening Committee, Linguistics; National Endowment
for the Humanities; AAUW International Fellowships; National Institute of Education
Manuscript Reviewer, academic presses:
Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, University of Pennsylvania
Press, Rutgers University Press, Basil Blackwell, Indiana University Press, Ablex Publishing Corporation, George Mason University Press, Stanford University Press, University of California Press
Publications
Nonprint Media
That's Not What I Meant!: The Sociolinguistics of Conversation. Set of 14 audiotaped
lectures and study guide for classroom use; part of Modern Scholar series, produced by
Recorded Books and sold through Recorded Books and Barnes and Noble bookstores. 2004.
That's Not What I Meant!: Language, Culture and Meaning. 55-minute video
presentation and study guide produced by Into the Classroom Media. Companion video:
Deborah Tannen: 1 on 1, a 25-minute discussion of issues raised by the lecture. 2004.
Women, Men and Language. 14 lectures and study guide; Modern Scholar series,
produced by Recorded Books and sold through Recorded Books and Barnes and Noble
bookstores. 2003.
He Said, She Said: Gender, Language, and Communication. 50-minute video presentation and
accompanying study guide; produced by Into the Classroom Media. Companion video:
Deborah Tannen: In-Depth. A 30-minute discussion of issues raised by the lecture. 2001.
Talking 9 to 5. 26-minute training video. ChartHouse International. 1995.
Books Authored
You’re the Only One I Can Say This To: Women Friends in Conversation. New York:
Ballantine, in preparation.
Writing My Father. New York: Ballantine, in preparation.
You Were Always Mom's Favorite!: Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives.
New York: Random House, 2009. Paperback: Ballantine. Germany: Verlagsgruppe. Greece: Enalios. Israel: Matar. Korea: Boogle. Netherlands: Prometheus. Poland: Smak Slowa. Sweden: Pagina/Optimal. Audio (unabridged): HighBridge.
Talking Voices: Repetition, Dialogue and Imagery in Conversational Discourse. Second edition,
with New Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. (First edition, 1989).
You're Wearing THAT?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation. New York: Random House, 2006; paperback: Ballantine. Brazil: Elsevier. Czech Republic: Zoner Press. Denmark: Akademisk. Germany: Random House Germany; Greece: Enalios. Israel: Matar. Italy: Frassinelli. Japan: Babel. Korea: Wisdomhouse. Netherlands: Prometheus. Poland: Gdanskie. Saudi Arabia: Obeikan. Spain: RBA Libros. Sweden: Pagina/Optimal. Taiwan: Briefing Press. UK: Little, Brown. Audio: Books on Tape.
Conversational Style: Analyzing Talk Among Friends, New edition with New Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2005. (First edition, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, 1984.)
I Only Say This Because I Love You: How the Way We Talk Can Make or Break Family Relationships Throughout Our Lives. New York: Random House. 2001. Paperback: Ballantine. (Paperback subtitle: Talking to Your Parents, Partner, Sibs and Kids When You're All Adults.) Brazil: Siciliano. China: The Oriental Press. Finland: Otava. France: Laffont; Germany: Ullstein. Indonesia: Mizan Pustaka. Israel: Matar. Japan: Obunsha. Korea: Wisdomhouse. Netherlands: Bert Bakker. Poland: Zysk. Russia: Eksmo. Saudi Arabia: Jarir. Spain: Paidos; Sweden: Wahlstrom & Widstrom. Taiwan: Crown. UK: Little, Brown. Audio: Simon and Schuster.
The Argument Culture: Moving from Debate to Dialogue. New York: Random House, 1998. Paperback: Ballantine. (Paperback subtitle: Stopping America's War of Words.) Bulgaria: LIK; Germany: Goldmann; Israel: Matar. Netherlands: Bert Bakker. Poland: Zysk. Spain: Paidos; Sweden: Wahlstrom & Widstrand. UK: Little, Brown. Audio: Simon and Schuster.
Talking from 9 to 5: How Women’s and Men’s Conversational Styles Affect Who Gets Heard, Who Gets Credit, and What Gets Done at Work. New York: William Morrow, 1994. Paperback: HarperCollins. (Paperback subtitle: Women and Men at Work ,Argentina: Vergara. China: Commonwealth. Germany: Kabel. Holland: Prometheus. Indonesia: Mizan Pustaka. Italy: Frasinelli. Japan: Kodansha (translation), Shohakusha (annotated English). Korea: Yemun. Poland: Zysk i Ska. Russia: Eksmo. Sweden: Wahlstrom & Widstrand. Taiwan: Commonwealth. UK: Virago. Audio: Simon & Schuster (abridged), Books on Tape (complete).
Gender and Discourse. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Paperback,
including new final chapter, 1995. Germany: Goldmann. Spain & Argentina:
Ediciones Paidos Iberica.
You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. New York: Morrow,
1990. Paperback: HarperCollins. Argentina: Vergara. Brazil: Nova Cultural. Bulgaria:
Agata. China: Liping. Czechoslovakia: Mlada Fronta. Croatia: Izvori. Denmark:
Munksgaard. Finland: Otava. France: Laffont. Germany: Kabel. Greece: Lichnos.
Hungary: Nyitott Konyvmuhely. Iceland: Almenna. Indonesia: PT Kentindo Soho.
Japan: Kodansha. Japanese Textbook edition: Eiho-sha. Korea: Korea Journalistic
Information. Israel: Matar. Italy: Frasinelli. Norway: Cappelens. Netherlands:
Prometheus. Poland: W.A.B.; Zysk i Ska. Portugal: Estrela Polar. Romania: Editura Litera. Russia: Exmo. Saudi Arabia: Jarir. Slovenian: Cankareva Zalozba. Spain: Javier Vergara. Sweden: Wahlstrom & Widstrand. Taiwan: Yuan-Liou. Turkey: Varlik Yayinlari. UK: Virago. Audio: Simon & Schuster (abridged), Books on Tape (unabridged); rerecorded unabridged 2004: Recorded Books.
That's Not What I Meant!: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Your Relations with Others. New York: William Morrow, 1986. Paper: HarperCollins. (Paperback subtitle: How Conversational Style Makes or Breaks Relationships.) Argentina & Spain:
Paidos. China: Yuan-Liou. Denmark: Munksgaard. Germany: Kabel. Greece:
Enalios. Hungary: Tinta Konyvkiado; Indonesia: Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
Japan: Kinseido, Kodansha. Netherlands: Bert Bakker. Norway: Cappelen.
Poland: Zysk i Ska. Saudi Arabia: Jarir. Sweden: Wahlstrom and Widstrand. UK: J.
M. Dent; paperback: Virago. Audio: Simon & Schuster.
Lilika Nakos. Twayne World Authors Series. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1983. (Excerpts
reprinted in Contemporary Literary Criticism 1984).
Books Edited or Co-Edited
Tannen, Deborah, Heidi E. Hamilton, and Deborah Schiffrin, eds. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 2nd edition. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2015.
Tannen, Deborah, and Anna Marie Trester, eds. Discourse 2.0: Language and New Media.
Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2013.
Tannen, Deborah, Shari Kendall, and Cynthia Gordon, eds. Family Talk: Discourse and Identity in Four American Families. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Tannen, Deborah, and James E. Alatis, eds. Linguistics, Language, and the Real World: Discourse and Beyond: Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 2001. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
Schiffrin, Deborah, Deborah Tannen, and Heidi E. Hamlton, eds. The Handbook of Discourse Analysis. Oxford, England and Cambridge, MA: Basil Blackwell, 2001.
Tannen, Deborah, ed. Framing in Discourse. Oxford University Press, 1993.
Tannen, Deborah, ed. Gender and Conversational Interaction. Oxford University Press, 1993.
Tannen, Deborah, ed. Linguistics in Context: Connecting Observation and Understanding. Ablex