Words on the Move opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to the words and expressions we use every day. Drawing examples from everyday life and employing a generous helping of humor, he shows that these shifts are a natural process common to all languages, and that we should embrace and appreciate these changes, not condemn them.

But the truth is different and a lot less scary, as John McWhorter shows in this delightful and eye-opening exploration of how English has always been in motion and continues to evolve today.

Whether its the use of literally to mean 'figuratively' rather than 'by the letter' or the way young people use LOL and like or business jargon like What's the ask?-it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our eyes. We understand that new words must be created for new things, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. Language is always changing - but we tend not to like it. 'A bestselling linguist takes us on a lively tour of how the English language is evolving before our eyes and why we should embrace this transformation and not fight it.

John mcwhorter words on the move