But the truth is different and a lot less scary, as John McWhorter shows in this delightful and eye-opening exploration of how English has always been in motion and continues to evolve today. Whether it's the use of literally to mean figuratively rather than by the letter or the way young people use LOL and like, or business jargon like what's the ask? - it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our eyes. We understand that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Language is always changing - but we tend not to like it. A best-selling linguist takes us on a lively tour of how the English language is evolving before our eyes - and why we should embrace this transformation and not fight it.
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