Language Myths

Readers interested in linguistics will learn that language change can't be prevented because it is a self-regulating system which takes care of itself. All languages are capable of vocabulary expansion to deal with new areas of life their speakers need to talk about. The media, often wrongly accused of ruining a language, are actually linguistic mirrors: they reflect current language usage and extend it. Languages cannot posses good or bad qualities because no language system can ever be shown to be clearer or more logical or more beautiful or ugly than any other language system. What about the speakers of a language? Despite the widespread belief that women talk more than men, most of the available evidence suggests just the opposite. If you want to learn a foreign language, rest assured that there are no easy or difficult languages. In fact it is not even possible to perform overall measurements of the complexity of a language. Since all human languages allow the precise communication of complex messages they all require a grammatical system. Double negatives may sound appalling in English yet they exist in many other languages. It is therefore not appropriate to think in terms of logic when looking at language use. An accent is like a map which listeners perceive through their ears and it gives them information about where a speaker was born, what age they are, what gender, what level of education they have, how much they might weigh and whether they feel well or ill at the moment of speaking. And finally readers may be surprised to learn that in many ways - mainly lexical - American English is more conservative than British English.

This is a collection of essays by today's leading linguists. Their mission is to debunk some of the most popular myths about languages. For example, some of the topics coverd are "Double Negatives Are Illogical," "TV Makes People Sound the Same," and "Some Languages Are Harder Than Others." My favorite essay had to do with the topic of the perception of American dialects.I think this book is very easy to read and it's not necessary to have a background in linguistics to enjoy it. Also, some of the things you learn by reading this book will give you a chance to get revenge on your high school English teacher. Check it out.

Is it really wrong to end an English sentence with a preposition? Is it really an affront to the English language that the noun "party" has mutated into the verb "to party" or that business has introduced the verb "to finalize"? Is the British accent really superior to the American accent? Is Spanglish a real language or something to be resisted? What is the proper past tense of "to dive": "dove" or "dived"?The authors and editors of "Language Myths" have presented a cogent set of essays which set the record straight on a variety of language topics. They illustrate how social biases shape our perceptions of language use. They discuss the mechanisms that drive the change and evolution of language, how subtle distinctions are refined, and how the language is normalized and simplified through the introduction of new words.A fascinating read. A wonderful source of "trivia" for conversation. A set of thought provoking arguments that may help reshape your world view. A great defense for the next time some grammarian corrects your speech or writing -- it may just be that their prescribed usage is the deviant form, not yours.

Unfortunately, linguistic research is generally inaccessible to the non-linguist and so much that is written about human language for the masses is by non-specialists who take the opportunity to air their own prejudices. This book addresses many misconceptions about language, often supported by highly reputable authors who nevertheless can be shown to know nothing about the way language works. As editor Peter Trudgill says, if you want to know about physics, you ask a physicist; and if you want to know about language you ask a linguist and not just someone who has used it successfully in the past. The chapters are written by highly competent academics who are well-known in the linguistics community, and despite their being written for lay readers, there is much here that is also relevant for linguists and students of language. Read this book to find out how all languages are equally complex, why linguistic change is inevitable, and to laugh at the rubbish newspapers print.