A gripping and moving text which explores the wealth of human language
diversity, how deeply it matters, and how we can best turn the tide of
language endangerment
In the new, thoroughly revised second edition of Words of Wonder:
Endangered Languages and What They Tell Us, Second Edition (formerly
called Dying Words: Endangered Languages and What They Have to Tell
Us), renowned scholar Nicholas Evans delivers an accessible and
incisive text covering the impact of mass language endangerment. The
distinguished author explores issues surrounding the preservation of
indigenous languages, including the best and most effective ways to
respond to the challenge of recording and documenting fragile oral
traditions while they're still with us.
This latest edition offers an entirely new chapter on new developments
in language revitalisation, including the impact of technology on
language archiving, the use of social media, and autodocumentation by
speakers. It also includes a number of new sections on how recent
developments in language documentation give us a fuller picture of human
linguistic diversity. Seeking to answer the question of why widespread
linguistic diversity exists in the first place, the book weaves in
portraits of individual "last speakers" and anecdotes about linguists
and their discoveries. It provides access to a companion website with
sound files and embedded video clips of various languages mentioned in
the text. It also offers:
- A thorough introduction to the astonishing diversity of the world's
languages
- Comprehensive exploration of how the study of living languages can
help us understand deep human history, including the decipherment of
unknown texts in ancient languages
- Discussions of the intertwining of language, culture and thought,
including both fieldwork and experimental studies
- An introduction to the dazzling beauty and variety of oral literature
across a range of endangered languages
- In-depth examinations of the transformative effect of new technology
on language documentation and revitalisation
Perfect for undergraduate and graduate students studying language
endangerment and preservation and for any reader who wants to discover
what the full diversity of the world's languages has to teach us, Words
of Wonder: Endangered Languages and What They Tell Us, Second Edition,
will earn a place in the libraries of linguistics, anthropology, and
sociology scholars with a professional or personal interest in
endangered languages and in the full wealth of the world's languages.
