Cart
Free US shipping over $10
Proud to be B-Corp

Speak Not James Griffiths

Speak Not By James Griffiths

Speak Not by James Griffiths


$18.49
Condition - Very Good
Only 1 left

Summary

As we stand at the brink of a terminal decline in the world's languages, and the rise of the hegemonic 'super-tongue', this is a personal and engaging account of how we can stop the race towards the extinction of linguistic diversity.

Speak Not Summary

Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language by James Griffiths

As globalisation continues languages are disappearing faster than ever, leaving our planet's linguistic diversity leaping towards extinction. Despite that the science of how languages are acquired is becoming more advanced and the internet is bringing us new ways of teaching the next generation, it is increasingly challenging for minority languages to survive in the face of a handful of hegemonic 'super-tongues'.
In Speak Not: Empire, identity and the politics of language, Griffiths reports from the frontlines of the battle to preserve minority languages, from his native Wales, Hawaii and indigenous American nations, to southern China and Hong Kong. He will consider the revival of the Welsh language and propose it as a blueprint for how to ensure new generations are not robbed of their linguistic heritage; outline how loss of indigenous languages is the direct result of colonialism and globalisation; and examine how technology is both hindering and aiding the fight to prevent linguistic extinction.
Introducing readers to compelling characters and examining how indigenous communities are fighting for their languages, Griffiths ultimately explores how languages hang on, what happens when they don't, and how indigenous tongues can be preserved and brought back from the brink.

Speak Not Reviews

This history of endangered languages assesses the political causes of their precariousness. * The New Yorker *
A welcome addition to critiques of empire and studies of language and politics. Part history, part memoir, part policy critique, the volume succeeds at telling a universal tale through particular stories, including characters who remind us that the languages we speak - and speak not - are the worlds in which we live, and that such worlds are worth fighting for. -- David Moscrop * The Globe & Mail *
Speak Not is an astute, well-researched, and often scholarly meditation on the forces that drive marginal languages out of existence in favor of dominant metropolitan tongues ... [a] stimulating work on the politics of language. -- Oliver Farry * LA Review of Books *
A lucid and timely account of languages under threat around the world... illuminating in the extreme. -- Kang Hyun-kyung * The Korea Times *
Griffiths is spot on: the survival of many languages-and perhaps the identities that go with them-depends on politics. * Asian Review of Books *
Speak Not teases out both differences and similarities between [Griffiths'] examples, be that in the racial dimension or level of state violence in their oppression, with both sensitivity and passion. * Buzz *
As languages throughout the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate, James Griffiths' book could not be more relevant. Focusing mainly on the historical trajectories of Welsh, Hawaiian and Cantonese, Griffiths chronicles the contentious and often bloody struggles faced by these languages, weaving the strands of history, culture and linguistics into a fascinating and highly readable narrative. Languages die for many reasons, but the book's central message is that language demise is not merely the natural consequence of modernization and mass media, but is often the result of a calculated authoritarian strategy that sees a common language as a guarantor of political unity. Speak Not is not merely a lament at the loss of the planet's linguistic diversity, but is also a positive record of how the courage and perseverance of beleaguered language communities can preserve and even revive their native tongues. * David Moser, author of A Billion Voices: China's Search for a Common Language *
Speak Not is a beautifully narrated and intensely smart global history of how languages are destroyed. From Hong Kong to Wales, Hawaii to South Africa, Griffiths artfully guides us through intimate stories of people fighting over decades, often in vain, to protect their linguistic heritage and identities, stories that, when taken together, reveal an oft-unexplored aspect of the disasters wrought by colonialism, nationalism, and global inequality. Yet within Griffiths powerful critique of language destruction is a story of hope: a glimpse into a world in which language revitalization is possible. * Dr. Gina Anne Tam, Trinity University, San Antonio, USA *
This commendable undertaking adds to the literature highlighting the constitutive role that centuries of imperial rule have played in the modern world. ... Speak not ends with a powerful call to action. * International Affairs *

About James Griffiths

James Griffiths is a reporter and senior producer for CNN International, based in Hong Kong. He is the author of The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet (Zed 2019) and has reported from Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, South Korea and Australia for CNN and outlets including the Atlantic, Vice and the Daily Beast. He was previously a reporter and assistant editor at the South China Morning Post, where he played a key role in the paper's award winning coverage of the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests in Hong Kong.

Table of Contents

  • Prologue
  • Part I: Revival
    • 1. Treachery
    • 2. The colony
    • 3. Welsh not
    • 4. Conformity
    • 5. Road signs
    • 6. Devolution
  • Part II: Resurrection
    • 7. Discovery
    • 8. Missionaries
    • 9. Statehood
    • 10. I Mua Kamehameha
    • 10. Polokalamu
  • Part III: Survival
    • 11. Common tongue
    • 12. Dialectics
    • 13. Understanding China
    • 14. Character complaints
    • 15. Independence
  • Epilogue

Additional information

GOR011966872
9781786999696
1786999692
Speak Not: Empire, Identity and the Politics of Language by James Griffiths
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
2021-10-21
264
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Speak Not