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The Language Hoax
The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language | John H. McWhorter
Challenges the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which claims that the language people speak shapes the way they perceive the world, arguing against the use of language as a lens through which to better understand human nature.
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violabrain
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Pickpick

I think I‘ve found my favorite genre of non-fiction: highly sarcastic, opinionated scholarly writing! I just loved this! Great arguments and also hilarious!

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violabrain
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Pickpick

I think I‘ve found my favorite genre of non-fiction: highly sarcastic, opinionated scholarly writing! I just loved this! Great arguments and also hilarious!

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britt_brooke
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Mehso-so

⭐️⭐️⭐️ McWhorter sets out to disprove the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. Yeah, I had to look that up, too. In short, he disagrees that people who speak different languages have differing perceptions. He delves into such details as color distinctions, the presence/absence of tenses, numbers, groupings, time orientation, the complexity of native languages vs developed language, and so on. Insightful, but the organization was too scattered. Confusing AF.

tpixie Sounds like has great potential but needed a better editor! 2y
britt_brooke @tpixie For sure! His other books I‘ve read didn‘t have this issue, so this was a bummer. 2y
Cinfhen Yeah, probably not for me - great review 💚 2y
See All 7 Comments
Ruthiella So weird. I‘m currently reading Cultish by Amanda Montell and she JUST referenced the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis on page 95! 2y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen Def skip it! 2y
britt_brooke @Ruthiella Shows how much I pay attention! I‘ve listened to Cultish (twice) and never caught that reference clearly enough to look further into it. 🤦🏼‍♀️ 2y
Cinfhen Hahaha 🙌🏻 2y
82 likes7 comments
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Megabooks
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Panpan

This is the first McWhorter I haven‘t enjoyed, not because I disagree with him but because I didn‘t understand the way he put forth his argument.

He takes on the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which says that culture follows language. McWhorter says that language develops to fit a culture, which intuitively makes more sense to me, but the book left me more confused after I read it than I was before. 👎🏻👎🏻 #audiobook

BarbaraBB Love your new profile pic 🐶 🤍 2y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB thanks! 😁💜 Molly is the most amusing passenger. She‘ll stand on her tiptoes to look out the window. 2y
julesG Ugh! I thought this guy knew what he's talking about. But I couldn't finish Nine Nasty Words. Lots of hype. I had objections from the introduction. Checked some lectures of his online and still wasn't sold. So I'm steering clear of McWhorter for now. 2y
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Megabooks @julesG yeah. I‘ve enjoyed the ones where he talks about phonetics more than linguistics. 🤷🏻‍♀️ gonna lay off him for awhile. 2y
britt_brooke Could not agree more!! 2y
Megabooks @britt_brooke yeah, this was an unhelpful stinker. 👎🏻 2y
74 likes6 comments
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annamatopoetry
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No #friyayintro today, so a #cleaningbookstack instead. I'm going back to handbok after my next one, because internet needs to be shelved, european travel is NEXT YAY, I think Lucas is reading language hoax, I think he finished night's daughter, and evolving english is also in need of reshelving.

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Foxnorth

Another great one that I highly recommend. #linguistics #language

4 likes2 stack adds
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Mandigolightly
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John McWhorter is my ~favorite linguist~ and I‘m loving this little book about how the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis/NeoWhorfism is a shitty, racist theory.

Clare-Dragonfly Oh, I love him! Do you listen to Lexicon Valley? 6y
Mandigolightly @Clare-Dragonfly I do, but I‘m still in the early years, catching up! I started listening because he‘s doing it but I didn‘t want to miss out on anything! 6y
Clare-Dragonfly I‘m slowly going through the old episodes but I listen to the new ones when they come out. His voice is so pleasant to listen to. 6y
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Mandigolightly @Clare-Dragonfly did you see his TEDTalk on txt speak being a variant of spoken language? 6y
Aimeesue @Clare-Dragonfly Lexicon Valley is the best. As long as you like show tunes! And Looney Toons. McWhorter always makes me laugh, too. 😄 6y
Mandigolightly @Aimeesue he‘s very personable! 6y
Clare-Dragonfly Ooh, I haven‘t seen that—I‘ll have to look for it! @Aimeesue Luckily I LOVE showtunes! 6y
tpixie Ooh thx for new info!!! 6y
41 likes5 stack adds8 comments