John H. McWhorter

John McWhorter teaches linguistics, Western civilization, music history, and American studies at Columbia University. His books on language include Nine Nasty Words ; The Power of Babel ; Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ; Words on the Move ; Talking Back, Talking Black ; and The Creole Debate . He is also a TED speaker, a columnist for CNN.com, a regular contributor to The Atlantic , a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, and the host of Slate 's language podcast, Lexicon Valley.

John McWhorter teaches linguistics, Western civilization, music history, and American studies at Columbia University. His books on language include Nine Nasty Words ; The Power of Babel ; Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ; Words on the Move ; Talking Back, Talking Black ; and The Creole Debate . He is also a TED speaker, a columnist for CNN.com, a regular contributor to The Atlantic , a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, and the host of Slate 's language podcast, Lexicon Valley. See less