There has never been,” Nunberg writes, an age as wary as ours of the tricks words can play, obscuring distinctions and smoothing over the corruga...
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reviews
Mar 16, 2011
Ensiform
rated it: 
A collection of newspaper pieces and NPR commentaries on the foibles of modern English usage by the author, a linguist at Berkeley. The pieces - mostly on the uses of symbolic language by people with political points to make, some on how technology changes usage - are witty and erudite, and show Nurnberg's firm grasp on the political zeitgeist.
He makes his arguments in a breezy, engaging style; for example, in discussing how "conversation" can be used to mean more of a lec More...
He makes his arguments in a breezy, engaging style; for example, in discussing how "conversation" can be used to mean more of a lec More...
Mar 22, 2011
Sarah
rated it: 
This is a case where the whole is less than the sum of its parts. Printing 5-minute radio pieces in book form might seem like a good idea (and maybe it would be, if it were an anthology such as This I Believe). In this case, unfortunately, the finished product feels a bit superficial and repetitive. After a while, I found myself thinking "and...?" at the end of each chapter.
One thing I did appreciate was the fact that he includes a word/phrase index, in addition to the usua More...
One thing I did appreciate was the fact that he includes a word/phrase index, in addition to the usua More...
Jan 19, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
I love linguists, and I especially love Geoffrey Nunberg. He has a way of choosing everyday words - in this book, mostly political words - and combining linguistic history with social commentary. I'm always entertained by him, but this book - essays from the last years of the Bush presidency - fall a little flat now. Taken in one large dose instead of the intended individual pieces, it's too much to take in. But gems abound. The essay on wikipedia is brilliant (my favorite quote: "This
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Jun 23, 2009
Kim
rated it:
I always like when linguist Geoffrey Nunberg is on "Fresh Air", and it was nice to read this collection of essays. Some essays would get two stars, some would get four, so I averaged it out. I most liked the essays about how the Bush administration manipulated language to fit its purposes ("enhanced interrogation", "Islamo-fascism", etc.).
Jun 20, 2010
Nai
rated it: 
The title disappoints--you expect some in-depth commentary on language, and all you get is a collection of op-ed language pieces.
Jul 21, 2009
Mj
rated it:
There were times when this book made me snort, chortle, and giggle. Many of it made me think :)
Oct 05, 2009
Adrienne
rated it:
I loved Geoffrey Nunberg's "The Way We Talk Now" in 2001. It was truly pop linguistics. My favorite essay was about slang and what part of speech a generation chose for its slang. He had a young daughter at the time and wrote a lot of essays about her learning to speak.
So I was very excited to stumble on this book. It shouldn't have surprised me that it was a lot of political linguistics. But I wanted more cultural commentary about linguistics after 9/11.
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So I was very excited to stumble on this book. It shouldn't have surprised me that it was a lot of political linguistics. But I wanted more cultural commentary about linguistics after 9/11.
More...
Jul 11, 2011
Mike
rated it:
I'd give it more stars but it's simply a compilation of essays and editorials from Fresh Air and several newspapers. I do love his grasp and take on English and it's mis/use.
Dec 10, 2009
Jerry
rated it:
Unfortunately his political leanings colors much of his observations on language. Where politics is not involved, there is interesting stuff.
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