xiv, 324 pages : 24 cm

Women's talk is trivial and unimportant. That is the age-old myth which this book debunks. Jennifer Coates explores conversations between women friends to reveal the richness and complexity of the language they use. Like musicians jamming, women friends use language to mirror, balance and echo each other as they share experiences, discuss social questions and explore personal issues. For women, exchange and support are basic to their ideas of friendship - and this culture of sharing is evident both in the language they use and in the way their conversation is organised. For those with an interest in language, this book is the most detailed depiction yet published of how women use language in talking to each other and how it differs from other kinds of talk. For feminist readers, it offers a remarkable insight into women's experiences, their friendships and the crucial role language plays in building and maintaining those friendships

Includes bibliographical references (pages 311-319) and index

Transcription conventions -- 'This is on tape you know': the origins of the book -- 'She's just a very very special person to me': women and friendship -- 'We never stop talking': talk and women's friendships -- 'We talk about everything and anything': an overview of the conversations -- 'Do you know what my mother did recently?': telling our stories -- 'The feminine shape ... is more melding in together': the organization of friendly talk -- 'You know so I mean I probably ... ': hedges and hedging -- 'It was dreadful wasn't it?': women and questions -- 'I just kept drinking and drinking and drinking': repetition and textual coherence -- 'Thank god I'm a woman': the construction of differing feminities -- 'Talk's absolutely fundamental': being a friend

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