“I adored my father.” In the first four words of her debut memoir, Deborah Tannen, linguistics professor at Georgetown University, makes the message of her book perfectly clear — as is only ...

Linguist Deborah Tannen interviewed more than 100 women for her new book on sister relationships, but as the youngest of three sisters, she was able to draw on plenty of experience of her own.

Deborah Tannen’s new book explores the idea that platonic relationships can be as fulfilling—and as fraught—as their romantic counterparts. Abbi and Ilana are best friends—and also ...

But the language of apology isn’t quite this simple. When I asked Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown, why some people apologize too much, she said apologizing is a natural ...