Word On The Street: Debunking The Myth Of A Pure Standard EnglishThough there is a contingent of linguists who fight the fact, our language is always changing--not only through slang, but sound, syntax, and words' meanings as well. Debunking the myth of "pure" standard English, tackling controversial positions, and eschewing politically correct arguments, linguist John McWhorter considers speech patterns and regional accents to demonstrate just how the changes do occur. Wielding reason and humor, McWhorter ultimately explains why we must embrace these changes, ultimately revealing our American English in all its variety, expressiveness, and power. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 69
Page vii
... Speech Error” Hoax Four. Five. In Centenary Honor of Mark H. Liddell: The Shakespearean Tragedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missing the Nose on Our Face ... Black English Is, Black English Ain't Six. Black.
... Speech Error” Hoax Four. Five. In Centenary Honor of Mark H. Liddell: The Shakespearean Tragedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missing the Nose on Our Face ... Black English Is, Black English Ain't Six. Black.
Page 1
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 4
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 61
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 95
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Lava Lamps and Language | 35 |
The Speech Error Hoax | 61 |
Is You Is or Is You Aint a Language? | 127 |
Black | 155 |
Black English in | 201 |
As We Travel On | 263 |
Sources | 273 |
Pronouns and | 276 |
Acknowledgments | 283 |
Other editions - View all
Word On The Street: Debunking The Myth Of A Pure Standard English John Mcwhorter Limited preview - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
acquire actually African Americans approach basic becomes black children Black English bridging British called Chapter child claim classroom close comes complex considered course creole culture developed dialect example expression fact first foreign French German give guage Gullah hand happen hear idea issue kind Latin less Level linguistic lives look marking means mixture natural never nonstandard once passage past patois patterns performance person play present problem pronoun readers reading reason result rules seen sense sentence separate Shakespeare similar simply slaves sound Southern Spanish speak speakers speech speech variety spoken Sranan standard English suggest sure talk teachers teaching tell tense things translation true understand varieties verb walk West African languages writing written