Columbia University linguist John McWhorter and I talk about talking. Why do millennials overuse the word “like,” and what led to the rise of “adulting?” (John also shares what he believes is the sole instance in which grammar scolds have succeeded.)
In the second half of this episode, we discuss race relations in the United States. John critiques a New York City proposal to axe the “Specialized High School Admission Test” after Mayor De Blasio called it “a roadblock to justice, progress and academic excellence” for the City’s minority students. The plan, which narrowly passed the State Assembly’s Education Committee earlier this month, would replace the test by admitting the top 7 percent from the city’s middle schools.
John and I take a close look at his article, “Atonement as Activism,” and break down the “Church of Social Justice.” We leap into the reparations debate with hesitation.
John is an associate professor of English at Columbia University and the author of many books, including Words on the Move: Why English Can’t -- and Won’t -- Sit Still (Like Literally). He writes prolifically for the popular press, especially at The Atlantic, and hosts a podcast for Slate called Lexicon Valley.
Shownotes:
0:00: Peter introduces John, who tells the story of how he became interested in language.
4:23: Noam Chomsky proposed that all languages share a universal grammar. Was he right?
7:36: Why are words always changing? Peter and John look at John’s book, Words on the Move: Why English Can’t -- and Won’t -- Sit Still (Like Literally).
9:20: John defends the promiscuous use of the word “like” ...
12:20: ... and the changing use of the word “because.”
13:41: John says the word “adulting” and “kidspeak” have become popular, particularly since the 2008 financial crisis.
14:57: Peter asks if irony and jest are more of an engine for linguistic change than in earlier generations.
16:15: Grammar scolds have mostly failed to prevent the evolution of language, except in this one particular instance.
18:54: How efficient is English, compared with other languages? Does it have anything to do with English’s widespread use?
21:51: Modern linguists try to link language and culture, but John says that’s a mistake.
24:16: How much of language is actually spoken? Peter and John talk about gestures--and whether American Sign Language should fulfill students’ foreign language requirements.
31:00: Languages are dying out yearly. What is the future of language?
33:50: New York City is worried that too few black students are admitted to the most prestigious high schools. But John says it’s a mistake to get rid of the admissions test.
42:50: John describes anti-racism as a religion, in which white privilege is original sin. Ta-Nehisi Coates’ writing is almost like a sermon.
49:27: Peter and John talk about the trend of defining down words like trauma, survivor, and racism. John says the “recreational pessimism” and “performativity” of anti-racism is usually more about providing catharsis than instituting real change.
57:57: The frame of mind that anti-racism encourages actually prevents people from experiencing satisfaction when real change occurs.
1:03:13: The “cult of white atonement” is intellectually lazy and actually condescending toward black people, John says.
1:07:56: The Jussie Smollett is the most recent example of what John calls “victimhood chic.”
1:10:36: Peter asks John about the new NAS report, Neo-Segregation at Yale.
Resources:
John McWhorter, Lexicon Valley Podcast
John McWhorter, “Why Grown-Ups Keep Talking Like Little Kids,” The Atlantic
John McWhorter, “The World’s Most Efficient Languages,” The Atlantic
John McWhorter, “Atonement as Activism,” The American Interest
Ta-Nehisi Coates, “The Case for Reparations,” The Atlantic
Peter Wood, “Fake Crimes, Real Hate on College Campuses,” Townhall
John McWhorter, “What the Jussie Smollett Story Reveals,” The Atlantic
John McWhorter, Words on the Move: Why English Can’t -- and Won’t -- Sit Still (Like Literally)
John McWhorter, “Don’t Scrap the Test, Help Black Kids Ace It,” The Atlantic
Dion J. Pierre and Peter Wood, Neo-Segregation at Yale, National Association of Scholars
