i am a librarian here and i am very happy to present john mcwhorter. this is john's third visit. today he is speaking about his most recent book, "talking back, talking black: truths about america's lingua franca" john mcwhorter is on associate professor of english and comparative literature at columbia university and teaches western history, american studies and music. best-selling author, ted speaker, and columnist for "time" magazine, con tributer to the washington post and publications. he is going to be speaking about his most recent book tonight "talking back, talking black." without further ado, john mcwhorter, please. [applause] >> thank you for coming tonight. what i want to talk to you about is the last book i published called "talking back, talking black." i wanted to see if i could make the general public have a more positive view of the dialect that most black americans use in c c casual situation. the idea is black english is a stain or scourge. it has also bothered me. i never heard it twhat but the misperception continues. and we linguistics take your heads at thi

i'm happy to present john mcwhorter. we're lucky that john has come more than once. he has been very kind about that. this is his third visit. tonight he will speak about his most recent book, "talking back, talking black, truth about america's lingua franca." john mcwhorter is associate professor of english and comparative literature at columbia university where he teaches linguistics, western civilization, music history and american studies. "new york times" best-sellerring author and columnist for "time" magazine and regular contributor to the atlantic, "the wall street journal," and "the washington post" and he is the author of 16 books, and tonight he is going to be speaking about his most recent book, "talking back, talking black." without further adieu, john mcwhorter please. [applause] >> thanks, folks. thank you for coming here tonight. what i want to talk to you about, for not too long is the last book that i published which was called, "talking back, talking black." itit had a very compact thesis. i wanted to see if i could make the general public have a m

and john mcwhorter examines black english and the controversies around and perceptions of sounding black. and on monday, memorial day, former president george w. bush talks about his portraits of american veterans. astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson discusses his many books on the cosmos. new york times book review editor pamela paul reflects on the books she's read over the past 28 years. michael whitmore offers his thoughts on shakespeare's legacy and much more. for a full schedule, visit booktv.org. booktv on c-span2, television for serious readers. and now we kick off weekend with craig shirley recounting president reagan's political life from 1976-1980. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon and welcome to the gaithersburg book festival. i'm a resident of gaithersburg and a member of the democratic central committee representing district 17 which encompasses the beautiful city of gaithers burg, so welcome. gaiters thug proudly supports the airports and humanities. we are pleased to bring you this event thanks in part to the generous support of our sponsors and volunteers. so wh

and john mcwhorter examines black english and the controversies around and perceptions of sounding black. and on monday, memorial day, former president george w. bush talks about his portraits of american veterans. astrophysicist neil degrasse tyson discusses his many books on the cosmos. new york times book review editor pamela paul reflects on the books she's read over the past 28 years. michael whitmore offers his thoughts on shakespeare's legacy and much more. for a full schedule, visit booktv.org. booktv on c-span2, television for serious readers.