Language shock

Modern society is loaded with cultural differences. Michael Agar's fascinating new book, Language Shock, shows how we unconsciously bring such differences to life - through our everyday language. It is with language, ultimately, that we express who we are and what is important in our world. In fact, language is so deeply rooted in culture (and vice versa) that linguistic anthropologist Michael Agar combines the two into what he calls languaculture. With so much present conflict, from personal to global, based on words as well as weapons, the exploration of languaculture is of a vital and…