A best-selling linguist takes us on a lively tour of how the English
language is evolving before our eyes - and why we should embrace this
transformation and not fight it.
Language is always changing - but we tend not to like it. We understand
that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is
spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Whether it's the use of
literally to mean "figuratively" rather than "by the letter" or the
way young people use LOL and like, or business jargon like what's the
ask? - it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our
eyes.
But the truth is different and a lot less scary, as John McWhorter shows
in this delightful and eye-opening exploration of how English has always
been in motion and continues to evolve today. Drawing examples from
everyday life and employing a generous helping of humor, he shows that
these shifts are a natural process common to all languages and that we
should embrace and appreciate these changes, not condemn them.
Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the
words and expressions we use every day. Did you know that silly once
meant "blessed"? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe?
Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word
like? And have you ever wondered why some people from New Orleans
sound as if they come from Brooklyn?
McWhorter encourages us to marvel at the dynamism and resilience of the
English language, and his book offers a lively journey through which we
discover that words are ever on the move, and our lives are all the
richer for it.
