Lexicon Valley McWhorter vs. McWhorter
7 snips
Jan 6, 2026 A surprising AI-generated article misattributed views to John McWhorter, sparking a need for clarification. He delves into the complexities of the Ukrainian language, explaining its unique genders, case endings, and challenging verbs of motion. McWhorter warns against oversimplifying this rich language. He also discusses the dangers of equating linguistic complexity with cognitive superiority and critiques the tendency to rank languages by grammar. Personal anecdotes round out the conversation, reinforcing the nuances of language and thought.
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Ukrainian's Complex Gender And Cases
- Ukrainian has three genders and a rich case system that creates many distinct forms for nouns based on role and relation.
- McWhorter emphasizes these features make Ukrainian challenging for learners not familiar with Slavic languages.
Verbs Of Motion And Aspect Pairs
- Ukrainian has numerous verbs of motion with aspectual pairs that distinguish completed vs. ongoing actions.
- McWhorter notes mastering these often requires growing up with the language or immersive years of use.
Unpredictable Stress Patterns
- Accent placement in Ukrainian is irregular and difficult for learners, often making them sound wrong.
- McWhorter likens stress patterns to a 'greased pole' that you must internalize by immersion.
