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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... reader, today's linguistics is couched in a dense jargon impenetrable to anyone outside of the field (or often, subfield), published in journals unknown outside of linguistics, and summarized in staggeringly expensive books sold only to ...
... reader, today's linguistics is couched in a dense jargon impenetrable to anyone outside of the field (or often, subfield), published in journals unknown outside of linguistics, and summarized in staggeringly expensive books sold only to ...
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... readers may find it hard to swallow that the way language changes is via kitchensink colloquialisms like singin' versus singing, or Who did you see? rather than Whom did you see? We are accustomed to thinking of this lowly sounding ...
... readers may find it hard to swallow that the way language changes is via kitchensink colloquialisms like singin' versus singing, or Who did you see? rather than Whom did you see? We are accustomed to thinking of this lowly sounding ...
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... reading a sixhundredyearold newspaper column (if there were such a thing) in which someone complains about how the whippersnappers are saying “I want to sing"! Pundits of yore actually left behind such complaints. Until the 1600s, you ...
... reading a sixhundredyearold newspaper column (if there were such a thing) in which someone complains about how the whippersnappers are saying “I want to sing"! Pundits of yore actually left behind such complaints. Until the 1600s, you ...
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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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