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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... complex endings, just as all languages with such endings shed them. Latin did too, and therefore we do not have to be bothered with learning such things when we learn modern “Latins,” such as French or Spanish. As we saw, however ...
... complex endings, just as all languages with such endings shed them. Latin did too, and therefore we do not have to be bothered with learning such things when we learn modern “Latins,” such as French or Spanish. As we saw, however ...
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... complex, suitable for the expression of all human needs, thoughts, and emotions. Just as linguists have encountered no languages that do not change, they have also not encountered any languages whose changes compromised their basic ...
... complex, suitable for the expression of all human needs, thoughts, and emotions. Just as linguists have encountered no languages that do not change, they have also not encountered any languages whose changes compromised their basic ...
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... complex tongues in their own right, not “sloppy Latin.” Surely Gabriel García Márquez does not abuse Latin in writing his marvelous novels. In writing the libretto to Don Giovanni, Lorenzo da Ponte did not fill the characters' mouths ...
... complex tongues in their own right, not “sloppy Latin.” Surely Gabriel García Márquez does not abuse Latin in writing his marvelous novels. In writing the libretto to Don Giovanni, Lorenzo da Ponte did not fill the characters' mouths ...
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... complex than the English of William F. Buckley or John Gielgud. One often somehow feels that Brooklynese or Cockney are somehow more “decayed” than standard English because, for example, they have dose instead of those, which takes a ...
... complex than the English of William F. Buckley or John Gielgud. One often somehow feels that Brooklynese or Cockney are somehow more “decayed” than standard English because, for example, they have dose instead of those, which takes a ...
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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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