This book is an in depth study of language formation, with particular focus on the development of creoles and dialects. Other areas emphasised include the differences between Black English (Ebonics) and Standard English and a debate on the idea that some languages are more "pure" or "real" than others.
This book is a blend of debate, grammatical study and anecdotes that tries to shed light on the way languages are formed and learnt and the way they evolve over time.
What Language Is and What It Isn't and What It Could Be by John McWhorter – Review
Let me state to begin with that this is not a book that just anyone should pick up off the shelf. That is not to say that it isn’t good – it is – but this study may well baffle non-linguists since it uses complex linguist language and analysis. I am a linguist, but at times even I had to pause and reread certain passages to be able to follow the discussion.
This is an incredibly detailed study that looked at many languages I had never even heard of before. From that point of view it was a very interesting read; although I feel I got more from the discussion of the language systems of Europe since I was more familiar with their structure to begin with and able to better appreciate the subtle nuances than I was for the Asian and African languages that I had not encountered before.
There were a few times when the book got a little bogged down in grammatical comparisons, but clever inclusions of amusing anecdotes helped to break up this threatening monotony and hold my interest.
As I said, this is not a read for the faint-hearted and those with no linguistic background should probably give it a miss. Yet, for the linguists among us, this will be a fascinating and thought-provoking read that will make you reconsider how we view both the development of our languages and adult language learning.
John McWhorter Biography
John McWhorter is a well-known linguist who teaches at Columbia University. He is also a contributing editor at New Republic. He lives in New York and is the author of twelve books, including: Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America; The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language; and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English.
I received this e-book as a free ARC copy from NetGalley.
Source:
- McWhorter, John. What Language Is and What It Isn't and What It Could Be. Gotham Books, 2011. (9781592406258)
