When Kamala Harris is speaking, this professor is listening

During the 2020 vice presidential debate, then-Sen. Kamala Harris took the floor back from an interrupting Vice President Mike Pence with two words that soon became a slogan: “I’m speaking.” 

When Harris speaks, there’s one person who is listening very intently: Nicole Holliday, acting associate professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley.

“Linguistics is the scientific study of language,” explains Holliday in this Academic Review video. “We study language like geologists study rocks.” 

When it comes to Harris, there are many layers to examine, from her strategic (and disproportionately criticized) use of profanity to the insights offered by her pronunciation and rhetoric. This video contains discussion of expletives spoken by current and former elected officials.

To Holliday, Harris’ background as a Californian, a Gen Xer (well, nearly, but we’ll accept) and a child of immigrant parents all make for fascinating linguistic listening and parsing. That’s all on top of her being the first female vice president.

Take Harris’ now oft-memed and discussed “coconut tree” speech from May 2023. Yes, it’s about community and the context that we all live in, but what Holliday is really hearing is the way Harris says the word “you” — a dead giveaway that Harris is a Gen Xer from California. 

“Everytime she says ‘you,’” says Holliday, “she’s doing it with her tongue far forward in her mouth and her lips rounded. This is a typical California feature.” Think Bill and Ted or Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High saying the word “dude.”  

Watch the video above to see how Holliday listens when Harris speaks, and how all of us can tune into the subtle shifts in our own language and delivery. 

For more Academic Review videos, where UC Berkeley professors break down music, deep fakes and more, click here.