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You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity ReviewDo you split infinitives and dare to think yourself reasonably intelligent? Do you regularly end sentences with prepositions and refuse to believe the end of civilization is nigh? Are you or are you not threatened by ebonics or worried (or not) that Spanish is going to swamp English? This is the book for you.
Lane Green's You Are What You Speak is sharp, funny and filled with insight into the politics and pretense of languages' guardians and scolds. Cutting right to the chase, Green gives us a brief history of grammar grouches from Cicero and John Dryden to modern day cranks like David Foster Wallace and that queen of cranks, Lynne Truss. In doing so, Green not only reassures us that language isn't going to hell in a hand basket--only a small minority have ever thought so--but that it is flourishing as it should, from the speakers' needs.
More importantly, his considerable depth of learning debunks many myths. The split infinitive police are supported not by facts but early grammarians who based their rules on their knowledge of Latin (where it is impossible to split one-word infinitives). In English though, it is possible to do so and only undesirable when it creates confusion. As for dangling preps, Green says, by all means do. There is no reason not to, and for clarity's sake, plenty of reasons to go ahead. He provides some delightful examples of when following the dangling prep rule is preposterous.
The author makes the important point that a few grouches have forgotten that language created writing not vice-versa. Hilarious criticisms of England's great poets and writers by grammarians cinches Green's argument that the scolds have lost all sense of perspective and proportion. Throughout the book he advocates clarity of thought and precision, not some hind bound adhesion to a rule established by a finger wagging grumpus. Bravo.
Subsequent chapters deal with the link between nation-building and national language, the politics of language and the sub rosa agenda of politicians when they deride and decry Black English or the "rise" of Spanish speaking Americans. The French Academy's efforts to stem the tide of English seems rather like herding cats, and an explanation of Chinese and Japanese alphabets instills a new respect for the often caricatured Asian nerd.
You Are What You Speak is the very best sort of language exercise: clear, entertaining and educative. Absolutely terrific!
You Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws, and the Politics of Identity Overview"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.
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