From “da Bears” in Chicago to “Hahvahd Yahd” in Boston, our accents shape how the world hears us — and how it judges us. Linguist Valerie Fridland explores how and why in her new book, "Why We Talk Funny: The Real Story Behind Our Accents," which traces how American speech patterns took shape over centuries and why they're still shifting today.

One generation's slang might be the next generation's everyday speech or it might have fallen completely out of fashion. A professor of linguistics joined The 21st to talk about how she thinks "bad" English is good.