Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words

Pronoun Trouble: The Story of Us in Seven Little Words by John McWhorter

Pronouns have an interesting history. Some merge together, while others separate. English lacks a plural you that is common in other languages. There are many local alternatives (like ya'll), but they are usually considered to be lower class or informal. Today, there has been movement in many language to adopt gender-neutral pronouns. "They" has been adopted in the English language. However, this has lead to some ambiguities in understanding. (You may be able to swap "they" with "she". However, you must then make sure "they" is disambiguated from other versions of "they" in it's classical sense.

Sometimes pronouns are adopted in seemingly improper ways that may actually make sense. Women will often use "you guys" to refer to a group of females, but would never refer to a woman as a "guy". Is this a group empowerment? A shop attendant will say "ya'll come back" to a single person. Maybe there is a hidden plural in this? "Me" and "I" are confusing. "Me and Julio" is technically incorrect when both are subjects, yet "I and Julio" is never used. "Julio and I" is the "official" version. But is it really better?  Some of our pedanticness is based on comparison to other languages rather than "historical English. As long as we are understood, does it matter? 

Analysis of language. history and evolution is always interesting.

Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever

Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter

What makes a word profane? It is not easy. Often a word will have fairly innocent origins, then gradually morph into an "unspeakable". The mores of the time strongly influence what is considered a "nasty" word. Deity, reproduction and excrement have been sources of profanity. Today, identity has become the primary taboo, with racial, ethnic and sexual orientation slurs being most "extreme". Words will often start innocent, and then morph through associated meanings and sound changes. Then the "obscenity" will change. The times will also influence the words. Euphemisms will then appear for the obscene words. These will continue to evolve. Innocent words of today may have come from this evolution, while the most extreme words today may have been innocent in the past.

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English

English is the ugly stepchild of the Germanic languages. It has adopted various grammatical features, pronunciation and vocabulary from other neighbors. Meanwhile, the Germanic languages have plenty of unique features that separate it from other Indo-European languages. What are some of these features and why did they come about?

Language evolves more quickly when different people intermingle without writing things down. English has various periods of limited literacy and connections with others. This contributed to many changes. Alas, these factors also make it difficult to trace the changes. Making it even more difficult, writing tends to be more conservative than spoken language. Thus, we may still see things written one way even after the language has moved on. 

Widespread writing and communications give us better records of language change. However, they also tend to significantly slow the rate of change. 

English has had a lot of interaction and influence from other languages. The author brings about the possible interaction of the Phoenicians with early Germanic speakers leading to some of the language changes. The Celts, Vikings, and Norse all played a role in influencing the language. There have been changes in both grammar and vocabulary that appear to be influenced by others.

The author is less convinced of the influence of language on thoughts and actions. There are some small cases where culture seem to match language. However, it is difficult to determine whether this was culture influencing language or the other way around.

Woke Racism: How a New Religion Has Betrayed Black America

John McWhorter zeroes in on the "wokism" that functions more like a religion than an attempt to improve society. Many subscribers to woke anti-racist ideology do it with a religious zeal. They have faith that their belief is correct. They cannot be debated. It is just "correct". Internal inconsistencies do not matter. Others that don't subscribe to their beliefs are either heretics or in need of conversion.  The missionary work is carried out in various ways. There are various "holy books" (such as "white fragility") and priests (such as black intellectuals.) Martyrs such as George Floyd are venerated. Followers must live by the creeds, remembering their original sin of racism.

This religion may help the followers feel good about themselves. It also provides a means of unity with others. At times (like George Floyd protests) it has become very popular. What it hasn't done much of is to improve lives. Visibility into police brutality and "defund the police" has resulted in a slight decline of police violence against blacks. However, it has also allowed an increase of black on black violence. In schools, the victims of student agressions are often of the same race and social group as the perpetrators. The victims now suffer more due to lack of punishment. Lower standards for minority college admissions has also led to students attending schools beyond their level, contributing to hire dropout and failure rates.

The woke evangelists work to seek out their converts and punish heretics. Seemingly innocent conversation can be deemed offensive and subject somebody to excommunication and ostracism. It doesn't matter if a person of color is actually offended. If the woke priesthood declares it offensive, they will issue the punishment. It also doesn't matter of the tenants are contradictory. (For example, we need diverse students in college to hear from diverse points of view, yet we should not expect students to communicate their viewpoints in class.) The woke "religion" continues to put non-whites in an inferior position.

It can be impossible to debate with adherents to the woke religion. Instead, they often must be skirted around to get real work done. The book proposes three things to help alleviate the black condition: end the war on drugs, teach reading through phonics and emphasize vocational education as an alternative to college. This is a succinct plan that provides tangible benefits.