Book Review: Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English, by John McWhorter (Gotham Books, 2008), 256 pages.

This is a very engaging and accessible book by a linguist on certain aspects of the history and grammar of English. I was a little disappointed at the narrow scope of this book: I was looking for a broad history of English, and based on the title that's what I was expecting. However, the book is really focused on making some very specific arguments, namely that English has been deeply affected by Celtic and Old Norse (in a way that has made English uniquely simplified among Germanic languages), and that this is true in spite of the fact that most scholars of English downplay or reject it. He goes on to stress that the history of English should lay to rest fears of the decline of 'good' grammar ("much of what constitutes ordinary Modern English today began as random novelties that floated in, despised as mistakes by the elite"), as well as the myth that language determines worldview (the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis). The book is surprisingly academic in its arguments, in that it interacts with and critiques current scholarship; but it is written in a very popular and entertaining style. I come away with a little more knowledge about the history of English and a respect for John McWhorter as a writer.

I also think it's interesting that McWhorter is not only a linguist, but also a commentator on race in America and a fellow at a conservative think-tank, the Manhattan Institute.