In his new book Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care
John McWhorter observes the vanishing of formal speech in American culture. He attributes this to the mainstreaming of 60's countercultural values.
As I see it, formal speech is "public speech", i.e. speech for the public sphere. This is to be contrasted with casual, informal "private speech". When all speech becomes informal--when we can talk, but not lecture---the infrastructure of respectful public life is further eroded.
To what extent is McWhorter correct that it is the mainstreaming of 60's values that has undermined the conditions of public life? If he is right, is there a way to re-establish the public sphere-with its attendant formality--without rejecting all the insights of the 60's concerning how this formality might serve to illegitimately exclude some from public life?
posted by Silver @
1:12 AM
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Monday, December 08, 2003  |
