Spoken Here : Travels Among Threatened Languages

Rating:
Summary: uneven with some strong sections that make worth reading
Review: From my viewpoint, a book of this sort is almost bound to end with a somewhat middling review. First, it is comprised of several sections, which although clearly tied together by the same issue are really wholly independent of one another. As is often the case in these sort of things, some sections stand out as particularly strong, some as merely average, and others as a bit weak. Secondly, the book is clearly not focused so much on the linguistics, yet cannot cover the topic without resorting to some linguistics. It is not solely a travel book, yet because the author does in fact journey to these dying languages it is partly a travelogue. Partly this, partly that--it is difficult for a book to overcome that sort of mongrel construction.
So yes, this book has its weak moments, its points where you wish he either delved more into the languages themselves or more into the settings/societies. But if Abley hasn't hit a homerun here, the book is more often successful than not and it does have some standout moments.
Language death is often discussed in abstract terms and one of the strengths of this book is that the author shows us the impact on actual living, speaking (for now) people. This has the effect of making the loss of such languages as Provencal or the aboriginal languages of Australia be felt more sharply by the reader. The sadness, the resigned weariness of these last few speakers of a dying language is hauntingly conveyed in their conversations with the author, lending the book an elegaic tone throughout much of its pages. Few of these stories will have happy endings and Abley's interviewees face that fact bluntly, as does the reader. But if most of these languages are past the point of no return, Abley also does a good job of showing some of the success stories, though without shying away from the tenuousness of the successes. The sections on "revived" languages balance the book's tone somewhat, and even the in not-so-optimistic sections, Abley does a good job of lightening the tone now and then.
The same good sense of balance is shown through Abley's care in not "deifying" those struggling to preserve the dying languages. It would have been easy to paint them as saintly underdogs automatically gaining the readers' admiration and sympathies, but Abley is unafraid to point out the negatives (in-fighting among language advocates, hints of xenophobia, use of violence, strangely poor teaching techniques) as well as obviously, the more positive aspects of fighting to retain a language's existence and use.
As mentioned, there are some weaknesses. Some sections seem a bit long. Some don't have the power or intimacy of the stronger ones. And often one wishes for more examples, or more examination of the languages themselves, more discussion of the difficulty of translation or the way language conveys a thought process or a perspective. All of this is touched upon in each section, it's just some are covered more fully than others. A more frequent aid to pronunciation would have been helpful as well; I at least found it frustrating to be reading about words and phrases I had no idea how to say. As I said, overall the book though uneven succeeds more than it fails and stands as a good, more personal and emotional introduction to a topic which will one assumes will only come up more and more often as English continues to encroach as the dominating language. Recommended.

Rating:
Summary: The struggle to preserve dying languages
Review: Mark Abley's topic is languages that are on the verge of extinction, and what people are doing to keep these languages alive and vibrant. Not all regions of the world get equal coverage: The author focuses on Canada, Australia, and western Europe. Abley is originally from Montreal, and he approaches the topic with a Canadian perspective that will intrigue some readers but flummox others. For instance, in one incident where a Montreal English-speaking Jewish person and a French-speaking Quebecois argue with each other, some non-Canadian readers might not appreciate the historical antagonism between these groups, each of whom perceives itself as being oppressed by the other.

Languages receiving the greatest attention are the aboriginal languages of Canada and Australia, Hebrew, Yiddish, Manx, Welsh, and Provencal. Abley does a good job of discussing linguistics in lay terms, and emphasizes how language structure affects the way we think. The sole drawback is that the book took on a repetitive tone after awhile. In some ways this is a travel narrative, but the emphasis is on the languages themselves and the people trying to keep them alive.

Rating:
Summary: The English Virus
Review: The viral-like spread of English as the lingua franca of the modern world has had many disturbing effects, not the least of which is its corrosive effect on hundreds of languages spoken by comparatively small populations. Canadian journalist Abley isn't so interested in detailing how this has happened (it's pretty obvious that the proliferation of satellite television and the Internet over the last decade, coupled with American hegemony is largely to blame), but rather seeks to visit these communities to see what efforts are being made to preserve native tongues. Long chapters on specific regions (Northern Australia, Oklahoma, The Isle of Man, Provence, Quebec, Wales) are separated by briefer interludes on various related themes. This is a fascinating topic, and one I somehow expected to find more interesting than Abley makes it.

It's hard to put a finger on why the book was a bit of a letdown. Abley is scrupulously fair-minded in his reportage, and has clearly done a great deal of research. He's careful not to blindly place language preservationists on a pedestal, and asks some genuinely hard questions. Although here's clearly a champion of these disappearing languages and draws a distinct parallel between biodiversity and linguistic diversity, he doesn't shy from shining the light on the failings or more objectionable sides of preservationists. That said, there are a few shortcomings. One of these is that he never really discusses how this whole issue worked in the past. When the Roman Empire ran amok, did Latin replace indigenous speech? More problematic is his focus on languages developed nations. For example, the spread of Spanish in South America, and English and French in Africa have had profound influences, but ABley sticks to North America, Western Europe, and Australia. Finally, the prose-despite noble efforts to inject humor at times-remains rather dry throughout. Some of the chapters run on and on, and would have benefited from judicious editing.

Still, it's hard to fault a book on such an important topic, and the mix of sociology, travelogue, linguistics, and history is probably the best approach to the topic. Recommended for those with a deep interest in the whole wide world and/or language, others may find it slow going.