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Words on the Move

Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)

by John McWhorter

Hardcover, 257 pages, Henry Holt & Co, List Price: $28 |

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Title: Words on the Move
Subtitle: Why English Won't - and Can't - Sit Still (Like, Literally)
Author: John McWhorter

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NPR Summary

Explores how the English language has always been changing and evolving, and continuing to do so today, describing how the word "silly" once meant "blessed" and that the suffix -ly is actually a remnant of the word "like."

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Nonfiction

Also by John McWhorter

NPR stories about Words on the Move

Author Interviews

Our Language Has 'Interesting Little Wrinkles,' Linguist Says

September 5, 2016 • John McWhorter of Columbia University says the way we use words changes, like how "literally" can now mean "figuratively." That example, he says, is a contronym, a word with two opposite meanings.

Our Language Has 'Interesting Little Wrinkles,' Linguist Says

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