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Columbia Professor John McWhorter will give a talk on "Adjusting to Modernity in American English." Professor McWhorter will discuss how language is so deeply ingrained in our consciousness that accepting linguistic change brings out the conservative in all of us. Language is fundamentally and necessarily flexible, however, and it is imperative that we be open to change, particularly in relation to euphemism and the use of pronouns, he argues.

John McWhorter teaches linguistics, philosophy and music history at Columbia University. He is the author of twenty books including The Power of Babel, Words on the Move and Talking Back, Talking Black, is a Contributing Editor at the Atlantic and hosts Slate's language podcast Lexicon Valley.

The talk will start at 7 pm, preceded by a cocktail reception at 6 pm. Gold Tickets include a copy of Words On the Move.