Dying Words: Endangered Languages and What They Have to Tell Us

"Dying Words: Endangered Languages and What They Have To Tell Us" not only renewed my decades-old avocational interest in linguistics, but proved overwhelmingly fascinating as well. The author is a Professor of Linguistics at the Australia National University College of Asia-Pacific who specializes in Australian Aboriginal languages, but who also has vast and deep knowledge of other small and dying languages around the world. The book focuses on languages spoken by small communities--some with only a handful, at most, of speakers left--and the worldviews they represent, many of which differ very significantly from the perspectives of large and ever-growing languages such as English, Chinese, and Spanish. For just a few examples, consider the following (written as well as they can be in the restricted character set available to me in this review): in Ubykh, a dying language in the Caucasus, the one-word verbal expression aqhjazbacr'aghawdoetwaaylafaq'aytmadaqh translates roughly as "if only you had not been able to make him take it all out from under me again for them"; while !Xoo, spoken in Namibia has from 84 to 159 consonant sounds, as opposed to English's roughly 45; in Nuxalk, also known as Bella Coola, spoken in British Columbia, Canada, xlp'xwltlpllskwc' says "he had a bunchberry plant"; in Navajo (made famous by the Navajo code talkers employed by the U.S. forces in the Pacific in World War II), there are many "l"-like sounds and the possibility of assigning a low or high tone to each syllable in a word to change its meaning; and in the Australian Aboriginal language Kayardild, distinguishing two kinds of r-like sounds and t-like sounds can turn what translates as "I'll see you tomorrow; I won't come back to the beach this evening." into "I'll bathe you tomorrow; I won't have sex with you to the beach this evening." Switching from sounds to perception of the natural world, in at least one Aboriginal language, it's vitally important to give directions by points of the compass, as I learned to do at least in part when I moved from the East Coast of the U.S. to the Great Plains, and as I still do in part living in San Francisco.

Easy to follow, easy to understand and Evans has a sense of humour within his writing. You don't have to worry about deep, technical and complex linguistics. The text is aimed at general audiences which is refreshing. Even though I was required to read it for a seminar in linguistics it was the few books that I enjoyed.

Required for a class. Interesting read.

I think this book would be good as a textbook in an introductory linguistics course. The author is passionate about linguistics in general and the extremely obscure, dying-out languages in particular, and he has convinced me of the importance of both. I had no idea that languages could be so different, or say so much about a culture's history and mindset. This is the kind of book that might cause a young undergraduate student to seek a career in the linguistics field. I found it fascinating and am now aware that protecting endangered languages is as important as protecting endangered animals.

As I read this book, I felt like I was on an exciting cultural excursion! DYING WORDS takes readers on a linguistic journey all over the world: around Australia, Asia, the Americas and Europe; through modern and remote cultures, and into both monolingual and multilingual societies. By looking through the lens of language, the author skilfully explores the different perspectives of people all over the world.The journey also goes far back into history. Ancient language samples reveal information about long-dead communities, such as their lifestyles, skills, ideas and possible origins. I was most fascinated by the author's insight into how Homer's epic poem may have been orally composed years before writing was formed.The book shows that languages capture valuable knowledge about a community's specialised age-old knowledge - be it in botany, geology or other fields. It makes me wonder how much more than a language is lost when its last speaker dies!Using a combination of theory and amusing anecdotes, the author makes a strong case that we need to find a way for our languages of today to be preserved for tomorrow...or to use the charming metaphor of one culture, "for our words to beach safely" (page 221). Overall, an enjoyable, informative and thought-provoking book!

If you are a lover of words or a professional philologist, you'll find no more interesting book than this one. A real page turner--in a substantive and educational way--I read it in one overnight, all day sitting. Maybe it will take you two.

I was entranced with my journey through this book from first to last- one in which the reader does not need to be a linguist, a sociologist, or a specialist, but only a member of the tribe of curious people.The only thing that stopped me from gobbling it all up in one weekend was the temptation to stretch it out and prolong the pleasure.Nick Evans tells a story that lies at the epicenter of the ebb and flow of human history. It reveals the narrative of human experience through a wonderful voyage of discovery into the common ties of language, culture and, ultimately, our membership in the world of intelligent beings. The reader engages in a fascinating journey into the aspects of the human soul that are common to us all as well as those that differentiate us from others.

Let me just start with the fact that Evans is a horrible writer. He jumps and skips around from one story to another to a point that makes everything confusing. Yes he has a lot of informative facts in this book but he also has a lot of unnecessary facts that don't even relate to his story. The book is not in any way enjoyable and is basically a class text book that has nothing but monotonous facts and numbers. A lot of things that Evans describes, you have to be a linguist to understand. Would not recommend for anyone to read for self education. I have to force myself to read another page..

Pour ceux qui s'intéressent aux langues, il y'a beaucoup d'histoire et de texte sur les langues très complexes et liées aux idées culturelles très profondes.