In this review, I give high praise to renowned linguist John McWhorter's insightful new book, What Language Is: And What It Isn't and What It Could Be.
If you're into linguistics, words, etc.... or if you're a self-confessed word nerd (like moi)... or if you simply enjoy reading intelligent books written by people who are both really smart and really funny, you'll appreciate this gem. McWhorter is something of a genius when it comes to making linguistic studies accessible and entertaining. I highly recommend his latest, What Language Is.
You can order What Language Is online for $15 at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It would make a great Christmas present for the English professor/avid reader in your life. (And no, I'm not getting paid to pitch this book. I just really like it.)
Incidentally, McWhorter was recently quoted in this story about the AP transcribing Obama's speech with informal/vernacular spelling (complainin' ) instead of formal spelling (complaining). In Obama's defense, as McWhorter puts it, the president was simply speaking with a "blaccent."
Scientifically intelligent individual takes offense.
ReplyDelete(Not really.)