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The Last Speakers: The Quest To Save The World's Most Endangered Languages (2010)

by K. David Harrison(Favorite Author)

3.78 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1426204612 (ISBN13: 9781426204616)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

National Geographic Society

review 1: I found this a completley engrossing read. Harrison's love for languages and the knowledge they embody is contagious. Though I have read Harrison's critics, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in language and culture, even if you don't subscribe completely to the author's theories. Other than the times when Harrison toots his own horn, the book is delightful. It has informed my perspective as an ESL professional, as well.
review 2: This book is a non-fiction account of the author's journeys around the world recording dying languages. The stories of the people he encounters and the languages and how they work is very interesting, and I loved that part of the book. However, he does a lot of preaching and teaching about linguistics in general, which... more made parts of the book read like a Masters Thesis. It wasn't thick, just kind of boring. I think it would have been a better book and reached a bigger audience if he had written more of the stories of the people and their languages and lives, and less about the discipline of linguistics. And I even like linguistics! less

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