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  • Published: 30 April 2011
  • ISBN: 9781446472408
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 336

The Power Of Babel

A Natural History of Language



A wonderful guided tour of language, as sharp and thought-provoking as Steven Pinker's The Language Instinct and as entertaining and Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue.

There can be few subjects of such widespread interest and fascination to anyone who reads as the strange ways of languages. In this wonderfully entertaining and fascinating book, John McWhorter introduces us to 'the natural history of language': from Russonorsk, a creole of Russian and Norwegian once spoken by trading fur trappers to an Australian Aboriginal language which only has three verbs. Witty, brilliant and authoritative, this book is a must for anyone who is interested in language, as sheerly enjoyable as non-fiction gets.

  • Published: 30 April 2011
  • ISBN: 9781446472408
  • Imprint: Cornerstone Digital
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 336

About the author

John McWhorter

John H. McWhorter teaches linguistics, American studies, and music history at Columbia University. He is the host of the podcast Lexicon Valley and writes a weekly column for The New York Times. McWhorter is the author of twenty-three books, including Nine Nasty WordsWoke RacismThe Power of Babel, and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue.

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