Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths of Language Usage

Conventional wisdom suggests English is going to the dogs, that bad grammar, slang, and illogical constructions signal a decline in standards of usage – to say nothing of the corruption wrought by email and text messages.

But English is a complicated, marvelous language. Far from being a language in decline, English is the product of surprisingly varied linguistic forces, some of which have only recently come to light. And these forces continue to push English in exciting new directions.

These 24 eye-opening lectures dispel the cloud of confusion that clings to English, giving you a crystal-clear view of why we use it the way we do and where it fits into the diverse languages of the world. Like an archaeologist sifting through clues to a vanished civilization, you’ll uncover the many features of English that sound normal to a native speaker but that linguists find puzzling and also revealing.

For example, the only languages that use “do” the way English does (as in “do not walk”) are the Celtic languages such as Welsh, which were spoken by people who lived among the early English and influenced their language in many subtle ways.

You’ll also delight in considering modern controversies about how English is used. For example, “Billy and me went to the store” is considered incorrect, because the subject form, “I,” should be used instead of “me.” But then why does “Me and Billy went to the store” sound so much more fluent than “I and Billy went to the store”?

These examples and many more represent a few of the flash points in English’s long history of defying rules, a process that occurs in all languages. You’ll come away from this course with every reason to be a proud, informed, and more self-aware speaker of English.

About the Author

Dr. John McWhorter is Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He previously was Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley. He earned his B.A. from Rutgers University, his M.A. from New York University, and his Ph.D. in Linguistics from Stanford University. Professor McWhorter specializes in language change and language contact. He is the author of The Power of Babel: A Natural History of Language; The Word on the Street, a book on dialects and Black English; and Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music in America and Why We Should, Like, Care. A Contributing Editor at The New Republic, he has also been published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Time, and The New Yorker. Frequently sought after by the media, Professor McWhorter has appeared on Dateline NBC, Politically Incorrect, Talk of the Nation, Today, Good Morning America, The Jim Lehrer NewsHour, Up with Chris Hayes, and Fresh Air.

Product details

• Full Audiobook MP3 Program
• Full PDF Guidebook Included
• Listening Length : 12 hours and 14 minutes
• Author : John McWhorter, The Great Courses
• Narrator : John McWhorter
• Release Date : July 08, 2013
• Publisher : The Great Courses
• Version : Original recording
• Language : English
• ASIN B00DTO42BC