Most of our assumptions about language are wrong. Language is not pure. Language is not about words. Language is not divided into real languages and "dialects." Language is not what we write on a page. So what, then, is language? In this bold and bright book, John McWhorter asks us to do a simple thing: to look at language the way a linguist does. And once we make that leap, we see a whole new world of human communication, celebrating everything from ancient Persian to the Navajo language to the term "baby mama." What Language Is argues that any language, left untouched, becomes more ingrown overtime.

Only adults attempting to learn a language (and constructively butchering it) can strip it down. Diving into the astounding complexities of Navajo, McWhorter outlines how a language can become downright disheveled, with more exceptions than rules. Looking at an African language called Twi, McWhorter elucidates how even tongues that sound primitive to the untrained ear enfold immense intricacies and how what sounds like "improper" language actually constitutes new and exciting grammar. And examining the difference between written and oral language, McWhorter explains that, to a linguist, the notion that the written word is somehow elevated over the spoken is downright bizarre. Riveting and iconoclastic, What Language Is explores not just how we communicate but also how we think. Book jacket.