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Language and languages
Aug 4, 2011 — NPR coverage of What Language Is: And What It Isn't and What It Could Be by John McWhorter. News, author interviews, critics' picks and more.
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Aug 4, 2011 — Humans have been speaking thousands of years longer than they have been writing. Yet many assume the written word is superior to the way we speak. In What Language Is: And What It Isn't And What It Could Be, John McWhorter argues that most of our assumptions about language are wrong.
Apr 13, 2011 — English is definitely changing, but whether it's declining or evolving depends on who — ahem, whom — you ask. Writer Robert Lane Greene recommends three books about what it means to speak and write "well" — when the definition of "well" is a moving target.
Jun 15, 2010 — Some linguists lament that in the digital age, once-sacred grammar skills will be lost in the shorthand shuffle of texting and tweeting. But language expert David Crystal isn't worried. In A Little Book Of Language, he writes about how kids actually do love words.
Oct 17, 2007 — In his new book, The Stuff of Thought, psychologist Steven Pinker sorts through some of the paradoxes of profanity. He points out that in a society that prides itself on free speech, certain words pertaining to sex and excretion remain off-limits.
Sep 14, 2007 — In English, we can babble, bark, bleat and bray. But we can also ask, cite, pose, preach and tell. Psychologist Steven Pinker says that studying how we use these verbs provides a window into human nature. Pinker discusses his new book, The Stuff of Thought.
