Doing our own thing : the degradation of language and music and why we should, like, care / John McWhorter.

By:

McWhorter, John H

Publication details: New York : Gotham Books, c2003.Description: xxiv, 279 p. ; 24 cmISBN:

1592400167 (acidfree paper)

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

427/.973 21

LOC classification:

PE2808.8 .M38 2003

Contents:

People just talk : speech versus writing -- Mere rhetoric : the decline of oratory -- "Got marjoram?" or why I don't have any poetry -- Rather too colloquial for elegance: written English takes it light -- What happened to us? or play that funky music, white folks -- La la la through a new lens : music talks to America.

Summary: Publisher description: In Doing Our Own Thing, critically acclaimed linguist and cultural critic John McWhorter traces the precipitous decline of language in contemporary America, arguing persuasively that casual, everyday speech has conquered the formal in all arenas, from oratory to poetry to everyday journalism-and has even had dire consequences for our musical culture. McWhorter argues that the swift and startling change in written and oral communication emanated from the countercultural revolution of the 1960s and its ideology that established forms and formality were autocratic and artificial. While acknowledging that the evolution of language is in and of itself inevitable and often benign, he warns that the near-total loss of formal expression in America is unprecedented in modern history, and has reached a crisis point in our culture in which our very ability to convey ideas and arguments effectively is gravely threatened. By turns compelling and harrowing, passionate and judicious, Doing Our Own Thing is required reading for all concerned about the state of our language-and the future of intellectual life in America.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 3 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Shelving location	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	NMC Library	Stacks	PE2808.8 .M38 2003 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		33039000726439

Includes bibliographical references (p. 255-266) and index.

Publisher description: In Doing Our Own Thing, critically acclaimed linguist and cultural critic John McWhorter traces the precipitous decline of language in contemporary America, arguing persuasively that casual, everyday speech has conquered the formal in all arenas, from oratory to poetry to everyday journalism-and has even had dire consequences for our musical culture. McWhorter argues that the swift and startling change in written and oral communication emanated from the countercultural revolution of the 1960s and its ideology that established forms and formality were autocratic and artificial. While acknowledging that the evolution of language is in and of itself inevitable and often benign, he warns that the near-total loss of formal expression in America is unprecedented in modern history, and has reached a crisis point in our culture in which our very ability to convey ideas and arguments effectively is gravely threatened. By turns compelling and harrowing, passionate and judicious, Doing Our Own Thing is required reading for all concerned about the state of our language-and the future of intellectual life in America.