John McWhorter
Linguist and author
John McWhorter is an American linguist who teaches at Columbia University. He writes books and articles on language, race and culture.
2 summaries 39 min of listening
American Born 1965 in Philadelphia, United States
About John McWhorter
John McWhorter was born in Philadelphia in 1965 and earned his PhD at Stanford University. He teaches linguistics at Columbia University, along with American studies and music history. His research looks at how creole languages form and how grammar changes under social and historical pressures. He has written books on language and on race relations, and he is a political commentator, including through a newsletter for The New York Times. His articles have appeared in outlets such as Time, The Wall Street Journal and The Atlantic, where he is also a contributing editor. BookBits carries two of his books on language: Nine Nasty Words and Words on the Move.