The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language
"A short, sour, brilliant little book... McWhorter makes all the right arguments, and he makes them clearly." --Adam Gopnik,The New Yorker"[McWhorter] tackles linguistic determinism--the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis--head on, arguing that world views are human, not strapped to one culture." --Nature"McWhorter is exhaustive, fair-minded, and convincing." --Pacific Standard"The Language Hoaxhas a sharp-edged title, but a generous and methodical approach to the evidence on both sides of the 'language-shapes-thought' debate. Nonetheless, John McWhorter has gathered the most comprehensive case for the prosecution out there, which will make both specialists and general readers think again. Besides being provoked, they will also be entertained by this wonderfully written book, which ends with the aim of redeeming our common humanity." --Robert Lane Greene, Language columnist, The Economist, and author ofYou Are What You Speak: Grammar Grouches, Language Laws andthe Politics of Identity"Some popular ideas are worse than wrong--they have a smidgen of truth on minor matters, but encourage misunderstandings of major matters. John McWhorter, one of our sharpest explainers of linguistics, shows that this is true of the chestnut that language shapes thought. Despite its superficial sophistication, the hypothesis conceals profound truths: that thought is far richer than language; that languages are products of capricious memetics rather than reflections of cultural obsessions; and that the cognitive similarities among people are deeper than their differences." --Steven Pinker, Johnstone Family Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author ofThe Language InstinctandThe Stuff of Thought