The Word on the Street Fact and Fable about American English |
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| Author:
| McWhorter, John |
| ISBN: | 978-0-306-45994-8 |
| Publication Date: | Aug 1998 |
| Publisher: | Perseus Books Group
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| Book Format: | Hardback |
| List Price: | AUD $42.00 |
Book Description:
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While the more conservative-minded language scholars lament the slide of American English into a hodgepodge of poor grammar and regional dialects, John H. McWhorter celebrates this evolution. The Word on the Street: Fact and Fable about American English, deflates any rigid conceptions of American English; instead, McWhorter urges readers to look at language in fluid, rather than stonelike, terms, and in the process challenges the linguistic orthodoxy that governs the way we speak.
While the more conservative-minded language scholars lament the slide of American English into a hodgepodge of poor grammar and regional dialects, John H. McWhorter celebrates this evolution. The Word on the Street: Fact and Fable about American English, deflates any rigid conceptions of American English; instead, McWhorter urges readers to look at language in fluid, rather than stonelike, terms, and in the process challenges the linguistic orthodoxy that governs the way we speak.