People think of black English as ungrammatical, but it bears the same relationship to standard English as contemporary Hebrew does to ancient Hebrew.
John McwhorterRead
People banging away on their smartphones are fluently using a code separate from the one they use in actual writing, but a code it is, to which linguists are currently devoting articles.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the distinct language and communication style that people use while texting and engaging on smartphones, which differs from formal writing.
John McWhorter emphasizes that the way individuals communicate on smartphones has developed its own set of linguistic rules and codes. This evolution reflects the unique nature of digital communication, as it diverges from traditional writing standards, prompting linguists to study this new form of language as a legitimate linguistic phenomenon.
Themes
TextingCommunicationDigital LanguageSmartphonesLinguistics
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on modern communication, you could quote McWhorter to illustrate how texting has created its own language.
More from John Mcwhorter
All quotes →People have been warning us that language was going to the dogs ever since Latin started turning into French. Yet the dogs in question never seem to emerge yelping on the horizon.
John McwhorterRead
It would be good if teachers could genuinely understand that black English is not mistakes, it's just different English, and that what you want to do is add an additional dialect to black students' repertoire rather than teaching them out of what's thought of as a bad habit, like sloppy posture or chewing with your mouth open.
John McwhorterRead
Similar quotes
It is interesting to come across people who feel that a ghost communicating via a spell-checker is less far-fetched than a software glitch.
Mary RoachRead
If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has been lost.
Jaron LanierRead
I hope to literally change the world with Black Girls Code by changing the paradigm which produces the current monolithic ecosystem in technology.
Kimberly BryantRead
Like most early enthusiasts, I always thought the way the Internet encouraged multitasking made users less vulnerable to manipulation, while simultaneously exploiting even more of our brain's capacity than before. Apparently not.
Douglas RushkoffRead
When you go to Japan, there is such a talent shortage that the debate about AI taking jobs is almost non-existent. The debate is, how can we automate this so we can get all the work done?
Andrew NgRead
More than anything else, technology will pave the way for innovative change at Starbucks. The bulk of Starbucks' innovation over the next several years will be technology-focused.
Howard SchultzRead