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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... expressions come and go all the time. What was “the bee's knees” in the 1920s was “swell” in the 1930s, “keen” in the 1950s, “groovy” in the 1960s, “neat” in the 1970s, “wicked” for a while in the 1980s, and today is “rad” or is said to ...
... expressions come and go all the time. What was “the bee's knees” in the 1920s was “swell” in the 1930s, “keen” in the 1950s, “groovy” in the 1960s, “neat” in the 1970s, “wicked” for a while in the 1980s, and today is “rad” or is said to ...
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... expressions like “Do it real slowlike”—yet this we see as “improper” English! While this erosion and renewal of sounds and endings is constantly happening, the meaning of words is also constantly changing in any language. In these cases ...
... expressions like “Do it real slowlike”—yet this we see as “improper” English! While this erosion and renewal of sounds and endings is constantly happening, the meaning of words is also constantly changing in any language. In these cases ...
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... 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 coherency and complexity. We ...
... 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 coherency and complexity. We ...
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... expression too, but keeps it as separate words, as they were in Latin. However, instead of turning habeo into an ending, it has turned its definite article into one, sticking it onto the noun. Thus where Spanish has el hombre for the ...
... expression too, but keeps it as separate words, as they were in Latin. However, instead of turning habeo into an ending, it has turned its definite article into one, sticking it onto the noun. Thus where Spanish has el hombre for the ...
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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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