“Our sense of what American English is has upended our relationship to articulateness, our approach to writing, and how (and whether) we impart it to the young, our interest in poetry, and our conception of what it is, and even… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“Modern Our Father, who is in heaven, blessed be your name. Give us our daily bread today. All three of these languages were rich, beautiful systems. There are no dogs to be seen. Middle English, the language of Chaucer, does not give the impression of being a “bastardization” of Old English or an example of “Old English in decay.” It… — John McWhorter Copy Share
As far as I'm concerned, and this is a big theme of mine, I'm not interested in white people loving me. It's an unrealistic… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“[I] would argue that native-born blacks are so vastly less "African" than actual Africans that calling ourselves 'African American' is not only illogical but almost disrespectful to African immigrants. Here are people who were born in Africa, speak African languages, eat African food, dance in African ways, remember African stories, and will spiritually always be a part of Africa -and… — John McWhorter Copy Share
People banging away on their smartphones are fluently using a code separate from the one they use in actual writing, but a code it… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“The difference between educated people and uneducated people is that educated people have been opened up to the notion that you can disagree without… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
Most languages spoken by a few thousand people are so complicated they make your head swim; a Siberian yak herder's language is much more… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
“Poetry that tames language into tight structures and yet manages to move us comes off as a feat, paralleling ballet or athletic talent in harnessing craft to beauty. When poetry is based on a less rigorous, more impressionistic definition of craft, its appeal depends more on whether one happens to be individually constituted to “get it” for various reasons. The… — John McWhorter Copy Share
“The late twentieth century has been the locus of a new lurch on English’s time line in America, where oratorical, poetic, and compositional craft… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
Rap and spoken word have reawakened the country to poetry in itself. Texting and Twitter encourage creative uses of casual language, in ways I… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
It would be good if teachers could genuinely understand that black English is not mistakes, it's just different English, and that what you want… — John McWhorter Copy Share Image
