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. |
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... actually a bundle of dialects, none of which can logically be seen as degraded language because they all arise from the same process of gradual, unstoppable change. 3. Because there are so many languages in the world and so many ...
... actually a bundle of dialects, none of which can logically be seen as degraded language because they all arise from the same process of gradual, unstoppable change. 3. Because there are so many languages in the world and so many ...
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... actually left behind such complaints. Until the 1600s, you was only used to address two or more people, and thou was used for one person (thou shalt not). Gradually, you came to be used for both one or several people and thou ...
... actually left behind such complaints. Until the 1600s, you was only used to address two or more people, and thou was used for one person (thou shalt not). Gradually, you came to be used for both one or several people and thou ...
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... actually have less trouble with language change than we do. Having written language—those snapshots—is what throws us. Because speaking is primarily an effortless, subconsciously controlled activity, we cannot resist the tendencies of ...
... actually have less trouble with language change than we do. Having written language—those snapshots—is what throws us. Because speaking is primarily an effortless, subconsciously controlled activity, we cannot resist the tendencies of ...
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... actually splits into more than just two branches. For example, under the Roman Empire, Latin was spread to so many regions across Europe that many subgroups used the language for centuries without having contact with one another. As a ...
... actually splits into more than just two branches. For example, under the Roman Empire, Latin was spread to so many regions across Europe that many subgroups used the language for centuries without having contact with one another. As a ...
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... actually, viewed up close, bundles of dialects that are variations on a single theme, but differ in crucial details. This is true of Spanish (Castilian is the standard but Aragonese, Leonese, and other dialects thrive), Russian ...
... actually, viewed up close, bundles of dialects that are variations on a single theme, but differ in crucial details. This is true of Spanish (Castilian is the standard but Aragonese, Leonese, and other dialects thrive), Russian ...
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Word On The Street: Debunking The Myth Of A Pure Standard English John Mcwhorter Limited preview - 2000 |
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actually African Americans AfricanAmerican children AfricanAmerican students Afrocentric ain’t American English audience basic bidialectal bilingual Black and standard black children Black English black speech black students bridging advocates bridging approach classroom codeswitching complex Creole languages Creolist culture developed dialect of English dialect readers endings English dialects English speakers example expression fact French genderneutral German grammar Gullah habitual Haitian immersion issue Jamaican patois John Rickford language change language mixture Latin Level linguists means Media Lengua modern nonstandard dialects noun Oakland controversy Old English patterns person pidgin play prepositions problem pronoun Quechua reading Rickford Romance languages rules Saramaccan seen sense sentence structures separate language Shakespeare Shirley simply singular slang slaves sound system Spanish speak speech variety Sranan standard dialect standard English sure Swiss German teachers teaching tense things translation verb vowel walk West African languages words writing