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People of good will on both the left and the right are secretly
asking themselves the same question: how has the conversation on
race gone so crazy? Bestselling author and acclaimed linguist John
McWhorter argues that an illiberal neoracism, disguised as
antiracism, is hurting black communities and weakening the social
fabric. We're told to read books and listen to music by people of
colour but that wearing certain clothes is 'appropriation.' We hear
that being white automatically gives you privilege and that being
black makes you a victim. We want to speak up but fear we'll be
seen as unwoke, or worse, labelled a racist. According to John
McWhorter, the problem is that a well-meaning but pernicious form
of antiracism has become, not a progressive ideology, but a
religion - and one that's illogical, unreachable, and
unintentionally neoracist. In Woke Racism, McWhorter reveals the
workings of this new religion, from the original sin of 'white
privilege' and the weaponization of cancel culture to ban heretics,
to the evangelical fervour of the 'woke mob.' He shows how this
religion that claims to 'dismantle racist structures' is actually
harming his fellow black Americans by infantilizing black people,
setting black students up for failure, and passing policies that
disproportionately damage black communities. The new religion might
be called 'antiracism,' but it features a racial essentialism
that's barely distinguishable from racist arguments of the past.
Fortunately, for all of us, it's not too late to push back against
woke racism. McWhorter shares scripts and encouragement with those
trying to deprogramme friends and family. And most importantly, he
offers a roadmap to justice that actually will help, not hurt,
black people. A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
There are approximately six thousand languages on Earth today, each a descendant of the tongue first spoken by Homo sapiens some 150,000 years ago. While laying out how languages mix and mutate over time, linguistics professor John McWhorter reminds us of the variety within the species that speaks them, and argues that, contrary to popular perception, language is not immutable and hidebound, but a living, dynamic entity that adapts itself to an ever-changing human environment. Full of humor and imaginative insight, The Power of Babel draws its illustrative examples from languages around the world, including pidgins, Creoles, and nonstandard dialects.
Saramaccan has been central to various debates regarding the origin
and nature of creole languages. Being the most removed of all
English-based creoles from European language structure in terms of
phonology, morphology and syntax, it has been seen as one of the
most extreme instantiations of the creolization process. This is
the first full-length description of Saramaccan.
Saramaccan has been central to various debates regarding the origin
and nature of creole languages. Being the most removed of all
English-based creoles from European language structure in terms of
phonology, morphology and syntax, it has been seen as one of the
most extreme instantiations of the creolization process. This is
the first full-length description of Saramaccan. The grammar
documents, in particular, a valence-sensitive system of indicating
movement and direction via serial verb constructions, hitherto
overlooked amidst the generalized phenomenon of serialization
itself.
A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language,
focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar
Why do we say aI am reading a cataloga instead of aI read a
cataloga? Why do we say adoa at all? Is the way we speak a
reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative
topics and more, "Our Magnificent Bastard Language" distills
hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.
Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh
influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the
Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all
during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful
evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and
linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about
the origins of English words and syntax patterns, "Our Magnificent
Bastard Tongue" ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening
nature of Englisha and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a
streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain.
This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been
waiting for (and no, itas not a sin to end a sentence with a
preposition).
"Superb." -Steven Pinker"An explanation, a defense, and, most
heartening, a celebration. . . . McWhorter demonstrates the
'legitimacy' of Black English by uncovering its complexity and
sophistication, as well as the still unfolding journey that has led
to its creation. . . . [His] intelligent breeziness is the source
of the book's considerable charm." -New Yorker"Talking Back,
Talking Black is [McWhorter's] case for the acceptance of black
English as a legitimate American dialect. . . . He ably and
enthusiastically breaks down the mechanics." -New York Times Book
ReviewLinguists have been studying Black English as a speech
variety for years, arguing to the public that it is different from
Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions
and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and
sound "black." In his first book devoted solely to the form,
structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly
explains its fundamentals and rich history while carefully
examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have
undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering
dialect.Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour
of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America's
borders to become a dynamic force for today's youth culture around
the world.John McWhorter teaches linguistics, Western civilization,
music history, and American studies at Columbia University. A New
York Times best-selling author and TED speaker, he is a columnist
for CNN.com, a regular contributor to the Atlantic, a frequent
guest on CNN and MSNBC, and the host of Slate's language podcast,
Lexicon Valley. His books on language include The Power of Babel;
Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue; Words on the Move; Talking Back,
Talking Black; and The Creole Debate.
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False Black Power? (Paperback)
Jason L. Riley; Contributions by John McWhorter, Glenn C. Loury
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R405
R330
Discovery Miles 3 300
Save R75 (19%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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JOHN McWHORTER challenges an enduring paradigm among linguists in
this provocative exploration of the origins of plantation creole.
Using a wealth of data -- linguistic, sociolinguistic, historical
-- he proposes that the "limited access model" of creole genesis is
seriously flawed. That model maintains that plantation creole
languages emerged because African slaves greatly outnumbered whites
on colonial plantations. Having little access to the slaveholders'
European languages, the slaves were forced to build a new language
from what fragments they did acquire. Not so, says McWhorter, who
posits that plantation creole originated in West African trade
settlements, in interactions between white traders and slaves, some
of whom were eventually transported overseas.
McWhorter draws on modern techniques of diachronic and
sociolinguistic analysis to demonstrate an "Afrogenesis
hypothesis". He shows how a single English-based pidgin originating
in Africa developed into Atlantic English creoles, and how French-,
Portuguese-, and Dutch- based creoles have African-pidgin origins.
McWhorter's hypothesis explains why there are no Spanish-based
creoles, even though slaves in many Spanish colonies had what was
considered to be "limited access" to the lexifier: because Spain
had no settlements on the West African coast there was no Spanish
pidgin to bring to the New World.
The evidence that most New World creoles were imports traceable
to West Africa strongly suggests that the well-established "limited
access model" for plantation creole needs revision. In forcing a
reexamination of this basic tenet, McWhorter's book will
undoubtedly cause controversy. At the same time it makes available
a vastamount of data that will be a valuable resource for further
explorations of genesis theory.
Though 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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