Words on the Move

“John McWhorter’s Words on the Move has a deeper point than most language books: it’s focused on the ordinary words which do most of the grunt work of communicating, but which we rarely give much thought to. It’s full of little puzzles and surprises that stop us in our tracks and make us aware of the gentle breezes that are always blowing our words hither and yon. McWhorter is awfully good at listening to words and at explaining what he hears there, and his book is so brimming with insights that even as a linguist, I found myself stopping every couple of pages to say to myself, ‘Huh—I never thought of that.’ So will you.”—Geoffrey Nunberg, linguist on NPR’s “Fresh Air” and author of Going Nucular and Ascent of the A-Word

“If you want to hate on new developments in English, you should at least understand why. With a combination of linguistic erudition and ready wit, John McWhorter takes us on a tour of a thousand years of the history of English, showing how language change is natural, unavoidable, and fascinating. You’ll come away with a better realization of why you feel the way you do—and why you shouldn’t.”—Jesse Sheidlower, author of The F-Word, former editor at large of the Oxford English Dictionary, and past president of the American Dialect Society

“Witty and wise, John McWhorter’s Words on the Move is an adventure and a romp, full of surprises and delights. If you love language, you will love this book. You’ll never think of language in the same way again.”—Deborah Tannen, university professor and professor of linguistics, Georgetown University, and author of You Just Don’t Understand