1.: A World of Many (Fewer) Voices
2.: An Extinction of (ideas about) Species
3.: Many Moons Ago: Traditional Calendars and Time-Reckoning
Case Study: Urban Nomads of Mongolia
4.: An Atlas in the Mind
Case Study: Wheel of Fortune, and a Blessing
5.: Silent Storytellers, Lost Legends
Case Study: New Rice vs. Old Knowledge
6.: Counting to Twenty on your Toes
Case Study: The Leaf-Cup People, India's Modern Primitives
7.: Worlds within Words
Bibliography
Index
"Harrison brings the personal as well as the academic to this very
interesting and readable book." --Language Documentation &
Conservation
"Engaging and non-technical enough to arouse the interest of
non-linguists, but wide-ranging enough and well-sourced enough to
appeal to linguists as well." --Linguist List
"Harrison tackles the question of what is lost when a language dies
from the vantage point of field studies with some of the few
remaining speakers of endangered languages in Siberia, Mongolia,
and elsewhere. When Languages Die reveals an astonishingly rich
catalog of human intellectual heritage and scientific knowledge on
the verge of disappearing as many of the world's small languages
become extinct." --Suzanne Romaine, Oxford University
"Depending on how one counts, it is likely that hald of the world's
languages will be lost over the next thirty years, a dramatic
change in human history. Harrison explores dying languages, how
they differ from stable languages, how they encode cultural
information that is lost with them, how their speakers behave, and
much more. He tells a fascinating and tragic story of immense
drama." --David W. Lightfoot, National Science Foundation
"Written in clear and concise prose, When Languages Die provides a
captivating account of how languages encode and categorize human
knowledge and experience. Harrison brings together a wealth of
examples from all over the world to illustrate just how very much
is lost when a language ceases to be spoken. The book is a
must-read for anyone interested in people and how we think,
perceive, and understand the world we live in." --Lenore A.
Grenoble,
Dartmouth College
"Harrison brings the personal as well as the academic to this very
interesting and readable book." --Language Documentation &
Conservation
"Harrison tackles the question of what is lost when a language dies
from the vantage point of field studies with some of the few
remaining speakers of endangered languages in Siberia, Mongolia,
and elsewhere. When Languages Die reveals an astonishingly rich
catalog of human intellectual heritage and scientific knowledge on
the verge of disappearing as many of the world's small languages
become extinct." --Suzanne Romaine, Oxford University
"Depending on how one counts, it is likely that hald of the world's
languages will be lost over the next thirty years, a dramatic
change in human history. Harrison explores dying languages, how
they differ from stable languages, how they encode cultural
information that is lost with them, how their speakers behave, and
much more. He tells a fascinating and tragic story of immense
drama." --David W. Lightfoot, National Science Foundation
"Engaging and non-technical enough to arouse the interest of
non-linguists, but wide-ranging enough and well-sourced enough to
appeal to linguists as well." --Linguist List
"Written in clear and concise prose, When Languages Die provides a
captivating account of how languages encode and categorize human
knowledge and experience. Harrison brings together a wealth of
examples from all over the world to illustrate just how very much
is lost when a language ceases to be spoken. The book is a
must-read for anyone interested in people and how we think,
perceive, and understand the world we live in." --Lenore A.
Grenoble,
Dartmouth College
Ask a Question About this Product More... |