The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language
John McWhorter
Thursday, 05 Mar 2015 at 7:00 pm – Sun Room, Memorial Union
John McWhorter is the author of numerous books on how language shapes the way we think, including What Language Is (and What It Isn't and What It Could Be) and Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: Untold Stories in the History of English. In his new book, The Language Hoax, he challenges the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, arguing that language reflects culture and worldview, not the other way around. McWhorter earned his PhD in linguistics from Stanford University and taught previously at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley, before joining Columbia University, where he teaches linguistics, American studies, philosophy, and music. He also writes for TIME Magazine. The Quentin Johnson Lecture in LinguisticsJohn McWhorter was a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, 2002-10, where he wrote and commented extensively on race, ethnicity and cultural issues for the institute's City Journal. He has also written several books about contemporary Black American culture, including Authentically Black, Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America, and All About the Beat: Why Hip Hop Can't Save Black America.
Cosponsored By:
- College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
- English
- Interdisciplinary Linguistics Program
- Quentin Johnson Lecture Fund
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
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