New in paperback. Hardcover was published in 2023. Proposing a new approach to the study of language, this book argues for the need to consider syntax in context and to engage with a wider variety of perspectives that better reflect the modern world and the changes to our language prompted by increased cultural diversity, the prevalence of social media, AI, and more. Referencing big data and drawing on a corpus of linguistic research, the book explores in particular the socio-pragmatic sensitivity and complexity within East Asian languages including Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, offering new insights that step away from traditional approaches to formal syntax.