Don't believe a word The surprising truth about language

David Shariatmadari

Book - 2020

"Everyone likes to think they know a bit about language: There are some words that you simply can't translate into English. The origin of a word tells you how it should be used. A dialect is inferior to a language. The problem is, none of these statements are true. In Don't Believe a Word, linguist David Shariatmadari explodes nine common myths about language and introduces us to some of the fundamental insights of modern linguistics. By the end of this eye- opening tour, readers will understand that grammatical "errors" are in fact the foundation of modern English; that the meaning of a word is not what a dictionary says, but how it's used; and that the difference between what gets labelled a "language&qu...ot; or "dialect" is political, rather than scientific. Don't Believe a Word offers an accessible and thorough introduction to the science behind one of the most essential aspects of our daily life"--

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Subjects
Published
New York, N.Y. : W. W. Norton & Company 2020.
Language
English
Main Author
David Shariatmadari (author)
Edition
First American edition
Physical Description
324 pages ; 24 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 296-314) and index.
ISBN
9781324004257
  • Introduction
  • 1. Language is going to the dogs
  • 2. A word's origin is its true meaning
  • 3. I control what comes out of my mouth
  • 4. We can't talk to the animals
  • 5. You can't translate this word
  • 6. Italian is a language
  • 7. What you say is what you mean
  • 8. Some languages are better than others
  • 9. Language is an instinct
  • Acknowledgments
  • Glossary
  • References
  • Index
Review by Booklist Review

Is anything quite so familiar yet so mysterious as language? asks Shariatmadari, a writer and editor at The Guardian. His aim is to cut through the fallacies and folklore that have accumulated around the concept of language and reframe it as a fundamentally social phenomenon, rather than a genetically determined one. Each chapter leans into and deconstructs a different erroneous claim about language, providing a wealth of context without getting too bogged down in technical jargon. The chapter Language Is Going To the Dogs, for example, corrects the assertion from purists that today's linguistic standards are slipping; Italian Is a Language tackles the politics and power dynamics behind what constitutes a language; and A Word's Origin Is Its True Meaning illustrates how a word's etymology can in fact be misleading and limiting to modern usage. Shariatmadari's treatise fits into the bevy of books about modern language written for a general audience, which matches his goal of reaching not just, in his words, the nerds and pedants. A worthwhile addition to any collection.--Chad Comello Copyright 2019 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Guardian editor Shariatmadari's mostly accessible debut about modern linguistics aims to debunk certain prevailing beliefs about language. He begins by showing the long history of an often-voiced opinion--that English is now in a state of unprecedented decline--citing a 14th-century complaint that too much Danish and French had entered the language. Shariatmadari follows up by demonstrating how commonly words change meaning (such as the verb "like") and argues that language is "change." Other chapters take on etymology, pronunciation, and accent. While Noam Chomsky, and his theory of a universal grammar, is one of the author's idols, Benjamin Lee Whorf, and his hypothesis that language shapes our perception of reality, is one of his whipping boys. Shariatmadari argues at length that Whorf's characterization of Hopi as a kind of "mysterious code" was both condescending and simply inaccurate. Shariatmadari has a gift for making obscure linguistic concepts plain, such as the function of recursion in grammar, which "means that there is no 'longest' sentence in a language--you can just keep adding to it," as illustrated by the nursery rhyme "The House That Jack Built." Shariatmadari, however, does have a tendency to belabor his points (as in his overlong discussion of dialect vs. language). Nevertheless, this is an engrossing introduction to some basic problems in contemporary linguistics. (Jan.)

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

The beauty and intrigue of language.Shariatmadari, a linguist and Guardian editor, is anxious to remove linguistics from its ivory-tower encampment and make it understandable for general readers. He cuts "through the fallacies and folklore that cloud our understanding" of this social science and provides some entertainment along the way. The author begins with the age-old myth that "language is going to the dogs." On the contrary, language is "constantly evolving.It's the speed of change, within our own short lives, that creates the illusion of decline." A history of the word "toilet" helps Shariatmadari shatter the myth that the origin of a word, its etymology, is a guide to its true meaning. How a word sounds when spoken, the "very fount of our self-expression," is largely unconscious. The shapes of our vowels and consonants, as well as accents, can change "whether you know it or not." Can animals speak? Meet Alex, an African grey parrot that could respond to complicated questions and even create a metaphorical compound. He said "rock corn" to describe dried corn. Using a specially designed board of symbols, Kanzi, a bonobo, can respond to around 3,000 words. The author also delves into where dialects come from, how to decide where a language begins and ends, and African American Vernacular English. AAVE has been branded slang or ghetto language, but using it "to help students acquire standard English actually speeds up that process." Are some languages better than others? Korean is held up by some as a "superior" language while German is a "time-honoured whipping boy." Mandarin is "slow but dense, Spanish quick but light." Shariatmadari enters into the fray over the noted linguist Noam Chomsky's controversial belief that language is instinctual. He votes no. Inquiring minds curious about epenthesis backronyms and heteronymy will find answers here.An at-times quite challenging but agile and lively introduction to language. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.