Spoken Here
by Abley, Mark
In Spoken Here, Mark Abley journeys around the world seeking out languages in peril -- Manx, Mohawk, Boro, Yiddish, and many more. Along the way he reveals delicious linguistic oddities and shows us what is lost when one of the world's six thousand tongues dies -- an irreplaceable worldview and a wealth of practical knowledge. He also examines the forces, from pop culture to creoles to global politics, that threaten to wipe out 90 percent of languages by this century's end. Abley encounters one of the last two speakers of an Australian language, whose tribal taboos forbid them to talk to each other. He spotlights those who believe that violence is the only way to save their tongue. He meets a Yiddish novelist who writes for an audience she knows doesn't exist. He pays tribute to such strange tongues as the Amazonian language last spoken by a parrot, the Caucasian language with no vowels, and the South Asian language whose innumerable verbs include gobray (to fall in a well unknowingly) and onsra (to love for the last time). Each of the languages Abley spotlights, from the familiar to the foreign, exemplifies the various threats that endanger languages worldwide. But many also prove their resilience, thanks to the efforts of their determined speakers and such unlikely tools as soap operas and pop music. Abley meets the crusaders as well as the uncaring, all of whom offer surprising insight into this centuries-old debate. Spoken Here is a singular travelogue, a compelling case for linguistic diversity, and a treasure trove for anyone who loves any language.
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Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages (SCARCE FIRST BRITISH HARDBACK EDITION, FIFTH PRINTING SIGNED BY AUTHOR, MARK ABLEY)
by Abley, Mark
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- 2004
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London: Heinemann, 2004. VG+/VG+. First Edition, Fifth Printing British Hardback Edition In D/w Not Price Clipped. SIGNED BY AUTHOR, MARK ABLEY, without dedication or inscription on title-page, A remarkable and a moving piece of travel writing and an utterly fascinating exploration of the nature of languages and how they shape the world around us. With Sources and Index. A very… Read more about this item Item Price
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Spoken Here - Travels Among Threatened Languages
by Abley, Mark
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Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages
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Spoken Here : Travels among Threatened Languagues
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Spoken Here - Travels Among Threatened Languages
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Spoken Here : Travels among Threatened Languages
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Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages
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Spoken Here
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