Where I Realize I Have a Favorite Linguist. Huh.

The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language by John McWhorter
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a useful, informative book that is a pleasure to read. It does exactly what it says it will do: show how the differences in languages make no appreciable difference in how people think. But in addition to that, it is clearly written, entertaining, and full of surprises.

A key to McWhorter's take on language is his scientific stance. He doesn't overlook what the research does say, but neither does he exaggerate it or read too much into it. He is careful to always describe exactly how far his claims or anyone else's can be taken, based on the evidence. He gives credit where it is due, explains the significance of various studies, and gives support for his claims. This means that he will sometimes knock down extravagant claims and pull the rug out from under exciting but flawed ideas about language, and that's a bummer, but it's also good science.

McWhorter popularizes the information for interested amateurs, but he doesn't sensationalize it. He shows how the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis--the notion that the form of a language affects its speakers' world view--can be demonstrated in a reduced way, at an academic level, but how it does not hold true in any significant way, how it does not, in fact, make any appreciable difference in the way groups of people think.

He makes a case for Whorfianism to represent only tiny differences which ultimately don't make a difference.

Even though he is debunking an idea that until now made for entertaining conversation, he isn't killing the fun; he still manages to provide his own entertaining revelations, which is one of the joys of reading his books. The tidbits about languages, the strange rules in this language and odd vocabulary in that one, are the details that I find most intriguing, and they're abundant here. Some are famous examples, some seem vaguely familiar, but many are new, and amaze me as they always do with the strangeness and variety of language and human experience.

Another thing I appreciate about his writing is his empathy. He knocks down patronizingly glowing attitudes toward certain languages, especially those of the Amazon or New Guinea or other native groups, while recognizing how those attitudes emerged from a genuine attempt at progressive thought and respect for others eighty or ninety or one hundred years ago, back when most academics were hopelessly dismissive of such "savage" or "unsophisticated" cultures. He accomplishes a similar feat with his discussion (here and elsewhere) of Black English, where he neither minimizes its complexity nor treads unnecessarily carefully around it, even though the subject has long been fraught with controversy. It helps, frankly, that he is an African American linguist, and so able to approach the subject in a respectful and sensitive way while maintaining rigor and academic distance.

He analyzes a single overheard sentence here in such a brilliant way that the reader almost wonders how we ever put a sentence together. He is able to show how clear meaning emerges from usage that appears inaccurate to some (looking at you, prescriptivists...), demonstrating that Black English can communicate precise ideas as flexibly as standard English. At the the same time, he shows that the differences in form do not correspond to a difference in thought.

Or maybe those are the same thing, said two different ways...

This is not a long book, but it's full and complete and entertaining. For people interested in language, it is highly recommended.

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