Are We Talking Ethnocentric Here?

Regarding “Can We Talk?” (Sept. 23): Wanna bet that most of conversation expert Deborah Tannen’s research subjects were white Americans? She characterizes men’s conversational style as untalkative, unemotional, problem-solving, a generalization which sure doesn’t hold for men from Africa, the Middle East, or many American ethnic groups.

It is ethnocentric to assume that what is true for most Americans is true for everyone.

WILLIAM SOFTKY

Los Angeles