Claude Hagège is the Chair of Linguistic Theory at the Collège de France in Paris. He is the author of more than fifteen books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Gold Medal from Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. Jody Gladding is an award-winning poet and translator, and author of Stone Crop, which appeared in the Yale Younger Poets Series.
“This book brings forward a French perspective into the global
debate on the endangerment of the world's language and cultural
heritage. Hagège resourcefully shares his thought-provoking
analysis of the dynamics in the development of language
diversity.”—Matthias Brenzinger, University of Cologne
*Matthias Brenzinger*
“With a distinctive and rich approach, Claude Hagège—one of today’s
most celebrated linguists in France—addresses language endangerment
against quite widely drawn historical and geographical backgrounds.
This book provides a comprehensive tour d’horizon.”—Nicholas
Ostler, Chairman, Foundation for Endangered Languages
*Nicholas Ostler*
"An impressive book on an issue of great importance by a most
accomplished linguist. Hagège warns that, though there are
currently 5,000 languages, by 2100 there will only be 2,500,
blaming our indifference as the cause of this catastrophe. He
believes that we can—and should—do something to counter this
threat. That is, we should not allow languages to die."—Ghil`ad
Zuckermann, The University of Queensland, Australia
*Ghil`ad Zuckermann*
"Innovative perspectives on the life and death of languages by a
leading French intellectual."—Bookseller
*Bookseller*
Click here to listen to the author discussing the disappearance of
tribal languages.
*http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8311000/8311069.stm*
"A polemic by a noted French linguist alarmed at the accelerating
death rate for languages around the world—he claims that at the
current pace half of the world's five thousand languages will fade
away within the next century. The book proffers a passionate and
often eloquent argument against efforts to establish English as a
single world language."—Bill Marx, PRI's The World (World Books:
International Reads for the Holidays)
*PRI's "The World"*
`On the Death and Life of Languages … is a wake-up call, covering
languages across the globe, from Cornish to the polyglot brew of
Papua New Guinea.’
*New Scientist*
`Regarded for millennia as a dead language confined to the
synagogue and the scriptural scroll, Hebrew has become a living,
vibrant tongue with its own demotic versions, slang and even
linguistic pedantry … This rebirth is only one of the fascinating
stories related by this leading French linguist, who brings to our
attention the alarming fact that 25 languages disappear each year,
meaning that the rich cultural heritage represented by half of the
world’s languages will have died before we enter the next
century.’
*Morning Star*
Selected as one of the "International Reads for the Holidays,"
PRI’s “The World”
*PRI's "The World"*
"[The] book is quite readable . . . . It will be especially useful
to researchers interested in language preservation and policy but
worth the effort for others."—E. L. Battistella, Choice
*Choice*
"Hagege’s book is a cornucopia of linguistic miscellanea, which
will not fail to fascinate and intrigue."—Kerstin Hoge, Times
Literary Supplement
*Times Literary Supplement*
“.....Beautifully written….Hagège makes his expert case for
linguistic biodiversity.”—Steven Poole, The Guardian
*The Guardian*
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