Did you know that silly once meant 'blessed'? Or that ought was the original past tense of owe? Or that the suffix -ly in adverbs is actually a remnant of the word like? In Words on the Move, McWhorter encourages us to marvel at the dynamism and resilience of the English language, and his book offers a delightful journey where we see that words are ever on the move and our lives are all the richer for it. He opens our eyes to the surprising backstories to words and expressions we use every day. Drawing examples from everyday life and employing a generous helping of humor, John McWhorter shows that these shifts are common to all languages, and that we should embrace these changes, not condemn them. But the truth is different and a lot less scary. McWhorter takes the customary care in distinguishing the word from its uglier, older cousin, nigger, but he pushes the distinction further than most: for McWhorter, these are not simply two. Whether it's the use of literally to mean 'figuratively,' or the way young people use LOL or business jargon like What's the ask?-it often seems as if the language is deteriorating before our eyes.

The speaker is being nice about someones lack of knowledge, which means this four-letter word does a lot to help. Language is always changing, but the way English is spoken today rubs many of us the wrong way. This statement suggests a way of thinking.

Words on the move by john mcwhorter