You Are What You Speak
Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity
Robert Lane Greene
- "An
- insightful,
- accessible
- examination
- of
- the
- way
- in
- which
- day-to-day
- speech
- is
- tangled
- in
- a
- complicated
- web
- of
- history,
- politics,
- race,
- economics
- and
- power."
- -
- KirkusWhat
- is
- it
- about
- other
- people’s
- language
- that
- moves
- some
- of
- us
- to
- anxiety
- or
- even
- rage?
- For
- centuries,
- sticklers
- the
- world
- over
- have
- donned
- the
- cloak
- of
- authority
- to
- control
- the
- way
- people
- use
- words.
- Now
- this
- sensational
- new
- book
- strikes
- back
- to
- defend
- the
- fascinating,
- real-life
- diversity
- of
- this
- most
- basic
- human
- faculty.With
- the
- erudite
- yet
- accessible
- style
- that
- marks
- his
- work
- as
- a
- journalist,
- Robert
- Lane
- Greene
- takes
- readers
- on
- a
- rollicking
- tour
- around
- the
- world,
- illustrating
- with
- vivid
- anecdotes
- the
- role
- language
- beliefs
- play
- in
- shaping
- our
- identities,
- for
- good
- and
- ill.
- Beginning
- with
- literal
- myths,
- from
- the
- Tower
- of
- Babel
- to
- the
- bloody
- origins
- of
- the
- word
- “shibboleth,”
- Greene
- shows
- how
- language
- “experts”
- went
- from
- myth-making
- to
- rule-making
- and
- from
- building
- cohesive
- communities
- to
- building
- modern
- nations.
- From
- the
- notion
- of
- one
- language’s
- superiority
- to
- the
- common
- perception
- that
- phrases
- like
- “It’s
- me”
- are
- “bad
- English,”
- linguistic
- beliefs
- too
- often
- define
- “us”
- and
- distance
- “them,”
- supporting
- class,
- ethnic,
- or
- national
- prejudices.
- In
- short:
- What
- we
- hear
- about
- language
- is
- often
- really
- about
- the
- politics
- of
- identity.Governments
- foolishly
- try
- to
- police
- language
- development
- (the
- French
- Academy),
- nationalism
- leads
- to
- the
- violent
- suppression
- of
- minority
- languages
- (Kurdish
- and
- Basque),
- and
- even
- Americans
- fear
- that
- the
- most
- successful
- language
- in
- world
- history
- (English)
- may
- be
- threatened
- by
- increased
- immigration.
- These
- false
- language
- beliefs
- are
- often
- tied
- to
- harmful
- political
- ends
- and
- can
- lead
- to
- the
- violation
- of
- basic
- human
- rights.
- Conversely,
- political
- involvement
- in
- language
- can
- sometimes
- prove
- beneficial,
- as
- with
- the
- Zionist
- revival
- of
- Hebrew
- or
- our
- present-day
- efforts
- to
- provide
- education
- in
- foreign
- languages
- essential
- to
- business,
- diplomacy,
- and
- intelligence.
- And
- yes,
- standardized
- languages
- play
- a
- crucial
- role
- in
- uniting
- modern
- societies.As
- this
- fascinating
- book
- shows,
- everything
- we’ve
- been
- taught
- to
- think
- about
- language
- may
- not
- be
- wrong—but
- it
- is
- often
- about
- something
- more
- than
- language
- alone.
- You
- Are
- What
- You
- Speak
- will
- certainly
- get
- people talking.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
