Language is perhaps our most powerful tool. It has been improved, imposed and modified widely over time. From James Baldwin, to the first settlers in the Plymouth Colony, to beat poets, to hip-hop artists, American English in all its forms has become a global, and imperial language.
"Words are never static, they go through changes, and in fact, change is the essential element for any language to thrive," said Ilan Stavans, professor of humanities and Latin American and Latino culture at Amherst College. "We borrow, we steal, that is in American English, from other languages, and also lend words to other languages and that give-and-take is essential."
Language is at the forefront of many cultural debates. It both unites and divides us. What language should we use when educating our children? How should we classify cultural dialects or colloquial languages, like Black vernacular English?
"There are people who are bringing other languages to English in ways that are not really happening with any other global language, like Chinese for example," said Patrick Cox, host of the popular Subtitle podcast and former editor and reporter for The World. "In that sense, I think it gives English the chance to evolve and transform and take on new, not just words, but phrases and thought patterns in a way that some of those other languages don't."
From the ubiquity of English, to understanding how language might help explain our current political moment, we analyze how words both help and hurt our culture on this week's episode of Under the Radar with Callie Crossley guest hosted by Phillip Martin.
GUESTS:
Ilan Stavans, Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College, and editor of a new book: “The People's Tongue: Americans and the English Language.”
Patrick Cox, host of the popular "Subtitle" podcast and former editor and reporter for The World. Patrick is the winner of the Linguistic Society of America’s 2019 Linguistics Journalism Award.
