Words on the Move

Words on the Move by Of Linguistics John Mcwhorter

A bestselling linguist takes us on a lively tour of how the English language is evolving before our eyes -- and why we should embrace this transformation and not fight it

Language is always changing -- but we tend not to like it. We understand that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Whether it's the use of literally to mean figuratively rather than by the letter, or the way young people use LOL and like, or business jargon like What's the ask? -- it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our eyes.

But the truth is different and a lot less scary, as John McWhorter shows in this delightful and eye-opening exploration of how English has always been in motion and continues to evolve today. Drawing examples from everyday life and employing a generous helping of humor, he shows that these shifts are a natural process common to all languages, and that we should embrace and appreciate these changes, not condemn them.

Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once meant blessed? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans sound as if they come from Brooklyn?

McWhorter encourages us to marvel at the dynamism and resilience of the English language, and his book offers a lively journey through which we discover that words are ever on the move and our lives are all the richer for it.

John McWhorter is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of California at Berkeley. His specialty is pidgin and creole languages, about which he has written two academic books. He is the author of Word on the Street: Debunking the Myth of a Pure Standard English, and the best-selling Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. McWhorter has been interviewed in The New York Times, Newsweek and other periodicals and he has appeared on numerous radio and television shows, including Dateline NBC, The Today Show and National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation. He lives in Oakland, California.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781627794718
ISBN 10	1627794719
Title	Words on the Move
Author	Of Linguistics John Mcwhorter
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Henry Holt & Company
Year published	2016-09-06
Number of pages	272
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable