Linguist John McWhorter on free speech, woke language, and why words matter
A conversation with Columbia University linguist and author John McWhorter on the power of language, the dangers of censorship, and the evolution of slang and swearing.
Listen 49:58
(photo credit, Eileen Barroso)
The First Amendment protects most words and forms of speech from government interference. What’s not protected are threats, incitement to violence, defamation, obscenity, fighting words and child pornography.
The country had a lesson in the power and limits of free speech with the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel, a pressure campaign by the Trump administration, a public outcry about government censorship and Kimmel’s reinstatement on Tuesday night.
This week on The Connection: protecting the right to speak…why words matter.
We invited linguist John McWhorter to talk about what we learned from this latest controversy and how to navigate our dynamic, ever-changing, sometimes-confusing English language. His books include Pronoun Trouble, Nine Nasty Words, Woke Racism among others.
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Brought to you by The Connection with Marty Moss-Coane
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