Words on the Move: Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)

This is a thoughtful book and perfect for someone who loves knowing more about language. It was eye opening for me, because I always thought that language was set in stone. The author has a terrific sense of humor, is a great writer, and has an ability to explain things in a way made this book hard for me to put down.

A new book about language by John McWhorter is always a treat. He has a knack for explaining things about language in ways that are clear, crisp, witty and interesting. Words on the Move takes aim at the idea that there is a 'correct' form of English, where words like "like" aren't used as fillers, where "LOL" doesn't happen, and where there are "correct' meanings (or pronunciations) of words at any given time. McWhorter is no "anything goes" relativist, but this book is devoted to arguing that language is ALWAYS in flux - both changing over time and place - and to expect it to "sit still" is asking language to behave in ways it just can't.Each chapter is devoted to exploring different ways that language changes. First, we talk about those little known pragmatic functions of language where a lot of change happens; words like "like" or "you know," are words that are less meant to convey an idea and more to add pragmatic and expressive color to sentences. Language needs those expressive words (or...emojis?) and words like that are not extraneous.Words also change their pronunciations, and this often has to do with very gradual changes in how people hear (and thus speak) certain words. The word "like" used to be pronounced "leek" and one can understand how the "hard e" could gradually change into a "soft e" which becomes a "hard i." (And have you ever noticed how the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill rhymes "daughter" with "after"? There's a reason; the spelling didn't change but the pronunciation did.)Words also change by combining and sometimes, after combining, dropping one of the syllables entirely. Again, the word "like" (pronounced "leek") used to be attached to adjectives like "slow" ("slow-leek" meaning "slow like"), until at some point, people heard it as "slowly" And more recently, "cellular phone" becomes "cell phone" which gets shortened further by dropping the word "phone" and just saying "cell."There are many more examples like this, each quite fascinating. But the moral of McWhorter's language story is that words, meanings, grammars, and pronunciations always change. Language is a sort of living thing that we collectively create and recreate. And if you think that your version of language is the "correct" one and that "that's not what ___ is supposed to mean," there is an excellent chance that you are using words and language in a way that the same would have been said about you by purists of the 1850's. The only reason we think the way we speak is the correct way is because that's the way we learned it.

This would appeal to anyone interested in words and the liveliness of casual conversation. McWhorter is a fun intellectual guide.

Another terrific, approachable book by McWhorter looking at how English has evolved and continues to change. Every few pages, I found myself wanting to tell anyone nearby about a fact I’d just learned.“Did you know that the adverbial -ly comes from like?”“Those little words we use to smooth the cracks in conversation? They’re mostly there to acknowledge the feelings of the person who just spoke.”“What’s happening with ‘literally’ already happened to ‘really.’”Rather than blurting out these ideas, a better choice would be to recommend they read the book. (And if they like it, they should also listen to his podcast on Slate.)

its really just an excuse to geek out on language with McWhorter. I was convinced and dropped my superior attitude about words that bothered me before. He makes a great case but overall it feels like an excuse to also go off in fun directions about the evolution of language, well-researched and i loved the part about vowel shift. He's a clear and compelling writer with a good amount of humanity.

This is the book that finally made me at peace with what I had already intellectually accepted: that for all technical purposes, descriptivism is the right approach. Things change. And many of the things I accept without question are, to the past, as wrong as the things that bug me now. I still accept that there are different "codes" and modes of speech that affect how people perceive us, but the same holds true for haircuts and clothing.Also, the author is a really good reader! His lectures must be quite enjoyable.

interesting, well written, good humor too

An excellent gift for all the language mossbacks on your Christmas list. A fascinating guide to current usage, and the history of English, I bought it for myself, and keep it right beside Dr. Johnson--he'd love it too.

It was a brief but entertaining insight into the evolution of the English language. I would highly recommend this book to any language enthusiasts out there.

Es para una persona que practica el idioma y estoy convencida que le gustaráSe lo recomiendo a cualquier persona que desee practicar el idioma

書名から分かるように、著者は「言語は(進行する)パレード(parade)であり、ことば（word）がその音声と意味を変えないというのは規則というより例外である（the exception rather than the rule）」(p.9)という見解を取っている。本書にはその変化の事例が検討されていて、興味が尽きないが、「like(¬～のような)」の新用法(pp.211-223)をかいつまんで紹介しよう。1. I opened the door and it was, like, her!　(reinforcing like)2. This is, like, the only way to make it work. (easing like)3. And she was like, “I didn’t even invite him.”　(quotative like)1は「(意外性を)強調する（reinforce）」用法で「ドアを開けると、(予期しているような奴じゃなくて)なんと彼女がいた」2は「断定をやわらげる(ease)」用法で「これしかそれを動かす方法はないみたい」(「躊躇のlike」とも呼ばれている)3は「引用の（quotative） like」で「そして、彼女は「私は彼を招待さえしなかった」と言ったんだ」3の用法はMerriam-Webster’s Advanced Learner’s English Dictionaryにも出ているので、すでに一部の英和辞典にも採用されている。どれも原義「like(～のような)」から推測しにくい語法なので詳しくは本書をご覧いただきたい。どの用法も若者言葉に端を発するようで普及度は分からないが日本語の「みたいな」（たとえば、あるライトノベルにあった例「逆に落ち着いて食べる暇が無い！みたいな！！まぁ！嬉しい悲鳴！ってヤツですかね！！」）とどこか共通するところがある「みたいな」感じで興味深い。英語の語法に興味のある方にお勧めする。

I liked the way it provided a structure for understanding how language evolves. I found the parts that dealt with pronunciation less interesting.