{"id":1264,"date":"2010-12-12T22:00:15","date_gmt":"2010-12-12T20:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elanguage.net\/blogs\/booknotices\/?p=1264"},"modified":"2010-11-23T13:03:59","modified_gmt":"2010-11-23T11:03:59","slug":"on-the-death-and-life-of-languages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/?p=1264","title":{"rendered":"On the death and Life of Languages"},"content":{"rendered":"
On the death and Life of Languages.<\/strong> By Claude Hag\u00e8ge<\/strong>. Translated by Jody Gladding. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Pp. ix, 364. ISBN 9780300137330<\/a>. $30(Hb).<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Eric A. Anchimbe<\/strong><\/a>, University of Bayreuth<\/em><\/p>\n

In the preface to Jody Gladding\u2019s translation of Claude Hag\u00e8ge\u2019s Halte \u00e0 la mort des langues<\/em> (Paris: \u00c9ditions Odile Jacob, 2000), the author\u2019s aim is stated: \u2018It is to this dangerous adventure, this wildly reckless game languages play with death, that this book is dedicated\u2019 (viii). We only understand what is meant by \u2018reckless game\u2019 when we are faced with frightening facts about the future of languages: about twenty-five languages die each year and the number may certainly increase, and only twenty-five hundred of the world\u2019s five thousand languages may survive the twenty-first century. Is this a catastrophe? H categorically replies Yes!, especially because, as he puts it, \u2018Languages, quite simply, are the most human thing about humans\u2019 (vii). The historical evidence this book presents of the essential importance of language to humans and human societies is compelling, just as the wide range of languages and countries discussed.<\/p>\n

The eleven chapters of the book are grouped into three parts. Part 1describes the social embodiment of language as a provider of life, as a living species, and how its elements, especially words, struggle to survive under various threats. Part 2 focuses on language death with insights into languages like Latin, Sanskrit, and Coptic, and the paths and causes of language extinction. A general assessment of the state and number of spoken languages in the world is presented here. Three main types of causes of language death are explained: physical causes (e.g. extinction of all speakers through natural catastrophes, genocides, epidemics), economic and social causes (e.g. pressure from a more powerful economy), and political causes (e.g. state\u2019s monolingual policies).H lights up this gloomy picture by presenting factors that might help avoid the disaster of language extinction.<\/p>\n

Part 3 takes up the resurrection of languages. It begins with an extensive case study of Hebrew from its origins to its revitalisation in Israel. The last chapter discusses the emergence of new languages, especially pidgins and creoles, and how these are preserved and promoted. The conclusion emphasizes the need to revitalize dead or dying languages, an effort that should be undertaken not only by linguists. English is singled out as \u2018the death threat that weighs upon languages today\u2019 (333), and in a direct address to speakers of English, H says, \u2018I wager that the wisest Anglophones would not, in fact, wish for a world with only one language\u2019 (333).<\/p>\n

Discourses on the endangerment, death, and revival of languages have been around for a long time. While it seems to have been generally agreed that dead languages cannot be successfully revived, H takes a compelling contrary perspective, basing his argument on the revitalization of Hebrew. This example and the appealing way in which his argument is made tell linguists that something not only must but can be done to avert the catastrophe of language death. For scholars and students, this book is a relevant read especially as it helps us size up literature that presents language endangerment and death as irreparable outcomes. The direct and straightforward style in which the book is written makes a good reading and gives readers a stronger feeling of the issues discussed\u2014the loss of human languages and the inescapable need to revive them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the death and Life of Languages. By Claude Hag\u00e8ge. Translated by Jody Gladding. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. Pp. ix, 364. ISBN 9780300137330. $30(Hb). Reviewed by Eric A. Anchimbe, University of Bayreuth In the preface to Jody Gladding\u2019s translation of Claude Hag\u00e8ge\u2019s Halte \u00e0 la mort des langues (Paris: \u00c9ditions Odile Jacob, 2000), […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1264"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1264"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1265,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1264\/revisions\/1265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}