John McWhorter

From the archives: What makes a language genuine and how is the accelerating rate of linguistic change affecting the ongoing debate over how we communicate?

What makes a language genuine and how is the accelerating rate of linguistic change affecting the ongoing debate over how we communicate?

What makes a language genuine and how is the accelerating rate of linguistic change affecting the ongoing debate over how we communicate?

With all its idiosyncrasies, some might argue it’s a wonder that the English language actually exists as a working language. But how did the language develop? We’ll spend this hour with bestselling author, linguist, and Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow, John McWhorter. His new book is “Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English” (Gotham, 2008).

With all its idiosyncrasies, some might argue it’s a wonder that the English language actually exists as a working language. But how did the language develop? We’ll spend this hour with bestselling author, linguist, and Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow, John McWhorter. His new book is “Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English” (Gotham, 2008).

What does Barack Obama’s candidacy mean for traditional African American politics? Does it portend a “post-racial” American society? We’ll spend the hour with scholar and columnist John McWhorter, whose article “Obamakids: And the 10-year-olds shall lead us” appeared in the August 10th issue of New York Magazine.