With authority and wit, Fridland explains the evolution of language and embraces the dynamism it shows.
A specialist in sociolinguistics conducts a lively study of how and why our language is changing.
According to Fridland, a professor of linguistics and a frequent commentator on language issues, the maxim that rules are made to be broken is made clear by the evolution of language, especially the variety of English spoken in the U.S. Her aim is not to condemn the most recent wave of modifications but to praise the energy and innovative spirit involved. In fact, trying to stamp out linguistic innovations seldom works—and often makes them more popular. “Language change is natural, built into the language system itself, and not just a way for teenagers to torture their parents,” writes the author. As she examines the social meanings of language, she notes that most changes originate from young people, women, and lower-income groups to build solidarity and combat established authority. To illustrate, she dives into the evolution of the terms noted in the book’s title. As something called a discourse marker, like has been around for a surprisingly long time, although its ubiquity is recent. Another bugbear of older generations—the use of literally as an intensifying adjective—also has a complex history. It appears that many of the people who use it in this way may not know the actual meaning of the word, and they use it to mean very. Its new role demonstrates how linguistic fashions catch on, with social media spreading it beyond the originating group. Likewise, dude is no longer used exclusively by young men and has developed a myriad of meanings flowing from nuance and context. Fridland has great fun with her subject, following the various lines of argument and delving into the subterranean roots of changes. The growing use of the singular they, for example, relates to attempts to de-gender traditional language forms. In short, the book is an interesting, entertaining read.
With authority and wit, Fridland explains the evolution of language and embraces the dynamism it shows.Pub Date: April 18, 2023
ISBN: 9780593298329
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.
“Quality of life means more than just consumption”: Two MIT economists urge that a smarter, more politically aware economics be brought to bear on social issues.
It’s no secret, write Banerjee and Duflo (co-authors: Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way To Fight Global Poverty, 2011), that “we seem to have fallen on hard times.” Immigration, trade, inequality, and taxation problems present themselves daily, and they seem to be intractable. Economics can be put to use in figuring out these big-issue questions. Data can be adduced, for example, to answer the question of whether immigration tends to suppress wages. The answer: “There is no evidence low-skilled migration to rich countries drives wage and employment down for the natives.” In fact, it opens up opportunities for those natives by freeing them to look for better work. The problem becomes thornier when it comes to the matter of free trade; as the authors observe, “left-behind people live in left-behind places,” which explains why regional poverty descended on Appalachia when so many manufacturing jobs left for China in the age of globalism, leaving behind not just left-behind people but also people ripe for exploitation by nationalist politicians. The authors add, interestingly, that the same thing occurred in parts of Germany, Spain, and Norway that fell victim to the “China shock.” In what they call a “slightly technical aside,” they build a case for addressing trade issues not with trade wars but with consumption taxes: “It makes no sense to ask agricultural workers to lose their jobs just so steelworkers can keep theirs, which is what tariffs accomplish.” Policymakers might want to consider such counsel, especially when it is coupled with the observation that free trade benefits workers in poor countries but punishes workers in rich ones.
Occasionally wonky but overall a good case for how the dismal science can make the world less—well, dismal.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61039-950-0
Page Count: 432
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
SEEN & HEARD
An unflinching self-portrait.
The tumultuous life of a bisexual, autistic comic.
In her debut memoir, Scottish comedian Brady recounts the emotional turmoil of living with undiagnosed autism. “The public perception of autistics is so heavily based on the stereotype of men who love trains or science,” she writes, “that many women miss out on diagnosis and are thought of as studious instead.” She was nothing if not studious, obsessively focused on foreign languages, but she found it difficult to converse in her own language. From novels, she tried to gain “knowledge about people, about how they spoke to each other, learning turns of phrase and metaphor” that others found so familiar. Often frustrated and overwhelmed by sensory overload, she erupted in violent meltdowns. Her parents, dealing with behavior they didn’t understand—including self-cutting—sent her to “a high-security mental hospital” as a day patient. Even there, a diagnosis eluded her; she was not accurately diagnosed until she was 34. Although intimate friendships were difficult, she depicts her uninhibited sexuality and sometimes raucous affairs with both men and women. “I grew up confident about my queerness,” she writes, partly because of “autism’s lack of regard for social norms.” While at the University of Edinburgh, she supported herself as a stripper. “I liked that in a strip club men’s contempt of you was out in the open,” she admits. “In the outside world, misogyny was always hovering in your peripheral vision.” When she worked as a reporter for the university newspaper, she was assigned to try a stint as a stand-up comic and write about it; she found it was work she loved. After “about a thousand gigs in grim little pubs across England,” she landed an agent and embarked on a successful career. Although Brady hopes her memoir will “make things feel better for the next autistic or misfit girl,” her anger is as evident as her compassion.
An unflinching self-portrait.Pub Date: June 6, 2023
ISBN: 9780593582503
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harmony
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2023
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