New York Times bestselling author and renowned linguist, John McWhorter, explores the complicated and fascinating world of languages. From Standard English to B

Emphasizes that many different languages are spoken in different parts of the world, giving examples from French and German to Arabic and Spanish.

There is, at present, no book introducing the general issue of why language is specific to human beings, how it works, why language is not communication and com

Background to the problem -- The Rubicon -- Language as miracle -- Language and natural selection -- The mental prerequisites -- Thinking without language -- Mi